Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) shareholders notch a 34% return over 1 year, yet earnings have been shrinking

We believe investing is smart because history shows that stock markets go higher in the long term. But not every stock you buy will perform as well as the overall market. For example, the Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB), share price is up over the last year, but its gain of 29% trails the market return. However, the longer term returns haven't been so impressive, with the stock up just 3.1% in the last three years.

After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals.

Check out our latest analysis for Atlantic Union Bankshares

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

Over the last twelve months, Atlantic Union Bankshares actually shrank its EPS by 20%.

So we don't think that investors are paying too much attention to EPS. Indeed, when EPS is declining but the share price is up, it often means the market is considering other factors.

However the year on year revenue growth of 4.0% would help. Many businesses do go through a phase where they have to forgo some profits to drive business development, and sometimes its for the best.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

We consider it positive that insiders have made significant purchases in the last year. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on Atlantic Union Bankshares

What About Dividends?

As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. Arguably, the TSR gives a more comprehensive picture of the return generated by a stock. As it happens, Atlantic Union Bankshares' TSR for the last 1 year was 34%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. The dividends paid by the company have thusly boosted the total shareholder return.

A Different Perspective

Atlantic Union Bankshares' TSR for the year was broadly in line with the market average, at 34%. Most would be happy with a gain, and it helps that the year's return is actually better than the average return over five years, which was 4%. Even if the share price growth slows down from here, there's a good chance that this is business worth watching in the long term. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Atlantic Union Bankshares better, we need to consider many other factors. Even so, be aware that Atlantic Union Bankshares is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about...

Atlantic Union Bankshares is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of small cap companies at attractive valuations which insiders have been buying.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on American exchanges.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.