Dividend Power Score
A single, comprehensive score designed to measure the true strength of a company’s dividend.
This score combines three essential pillars of dividend quality:
Consistency – Measures how reliable the dividend has been over time, focusing on payment history, stability, and the absence of cuts or suspensions.
Payability – Assesses the company’s financial ability to sustain its dividend, taking into account cash flow, earnings coverage, balance sheet strength, and overall financial health.
Growth – Evaluates the long-term growth of both the dividend and the company’s share price, highlighting businesses that consistently increase payouts while creating shareholder value.
Higher scores identify companies that have historically delivered dependable income alongside sustained dividend growth and long-term capital appreciation.
Company Overview
Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation is a U.S. regional bank holding company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operating primarily through its banking subsidiary, Atlantic Union Bank. The company provides a broad range of financial services including commercial banking, consumer banking, wealth management, mortgage banking, and treasury management services. AUB operates within the regional banking and financial services industries, serving individuals, small and middle-market businesses, commercial real estate clients, municipalities, and institutional customers. Its revenue is primarily generated through net interest income from lending activities, alongside fee-based income from wealth management, mortgage operations, and service charges.
The company traces its origins to 1902 and expanded significantly through a series of acquisitions and mergers across the Mid-Atlantic region. Formerly known as Union Bankshares Corporation, the company rebranded to Atlantic Union Bankshares in 2019 to reflect its broader regional presence. AUB has positioned itself as a relationship-focused regional banking franchise with a concentration in high-growth Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic markets. Its strategy emphasizes community banking combined with scalable commercial banking capabilities, supported by investments in digital banking infrastructure and risk management systems.
Business Operations
Atlantic Union Bankshares conducts operations primarily through Atlantic Union Bank, which serves as the company’s principal banking subsidiary. The company’s activities are generally organized around commercial banking, consumer banking, mortgage banking, and wealth advisory services. Commercial lending includes commercial and industrial loans, owner-occupied and investor commercial real estate lending, equipment finance, and agricultural banking. Consumer operations include residential mortgages, home equity products, personal deposits, and retail banking services. Noninterest income is supplemented through wealth management and trust services provided under affiliated advisory operations.
The company operates predominantly in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, with banking centers, loan production offices, and specialized financial service operations across Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina. AUB controls a substantial branch and ATM network as well as digital and mobile banking platforms supporting retail and commercial clients. Strategic acquisitions have expanded the company’s scale and capabilities, including the acquisition of Access National Corporation and American National Bankshares Inc. The organization also maintains partnerships with financial technology vendors and payment processing networks to support treasury management, cybersecurity, and digital banking services.
Strategic Position & Investments
Atlantic Union Bankshares has focused its strategic direction on disciplined regional expansion, commercial banking growth, and operational efficiency. Management has emphasized increasing market share in attractive metropolitan areas such as Richmond, Northern Virginia, and Raleigh while strengthening commercial and industrial lending capabilities. The company has also invested in digital transformation initiatives intended to improve customer experience, automate back-office functions, and support scalable growth. Efficiency improvement and prudent capital management remain recurring themes in public filings and investor communications.
AUB’s acquisition strategy has played a major role in its evolution into a larger regional banking institution. The acquisitions of Access National Corporation in 2019 and American National Bankshares Inc. in 2024 materially expanded its deposit base, lending portfolio, and geographic reach. The company has also continued investing in treasury management, wealth advisory capabilities, and commercial banking talent recruitment. While AUB is not broadly diversified into nonbank financial sectors, it has expanded specialized banking capabilities in healthcare, legal, and professional services industries through targeted commercial banking initiatives.
Geographic Footprint
Atlantic Union Bankshares operates primarily in the United States, with its strongest concentration in Virginia, where it maintains a significant retail and commercial banking presence. The company also serves customers in Maryland and North Carolina, particularly through commercial lending and wealth management operations. Its headquarters are located in Richmond, Virginia, which functions as the central hub for executive leadership, risk management, finance, and strategic planning activities.
The company’s market footprint spans several high-growth metropolitan and suburban banking markets across the Mid-Atlantic region. Through branch operations, commercial banking teams, and digital banking channels, AUB maintains a regional presence rather than a global operational network. Public disclosures indicate that the company’s activities are overwhelmingly domestic, with no major international operating divisions reported. However, certain commercial clients may engage in international transactions supported through correspondent banking and treasury services.
Leadership & Governance
Atlantic Union Bankshares is led by an executive management team with backgrounds in regional banking, commercial finance, risk management, and capital markets. The company’s governance framework includes oversight by an independent board of directors and adherence to U.S. banking regulatory standards applicable to publicly traded bank holding companies. Leadership communications have consistently emphasized community banking principles, disciplined growth, credit quality, operational efficiency, and long-term shareholder value creation.
Key executives include:
- John C. Asbury – President and Chief Executive Officer
- Robert M. Gorman – Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
- Maria P. Tedesco – President of Atlantic Union Bank
- Frank Russell Ellett – Chief Risk Officer
- Sharon M. Oakes – Chief Human Resources Officer
- Jeffrey N. Ruggles – Chief Credit Officer
The company’s leadership strategy has focused on balancing regional expansion with conservative credit and capital management practices. Public filings, including SEC filings and investor presentations, consistently describe a relationship-driven banking model centered on commercial banking growth, customer retention, and disciplined integration of acquired institutions.