Head-To-Head Contrast: Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) versus Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA)

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) and Heritage Financial (NASDAQ:HFWA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, valuation, earnings, institutional ownership and dividends.

Volatility & Risk

Atlantic Union Bankshares has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Heritage Financial has a beta of 0.5, suggesting that its stock price is 50% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Atlantic Union Bankshares and Heritage Financial”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$2.04 billion	2.65	$273.71 million	$3.35	11.32
Heritage Financial	$335.97 million	3.36	$67.53 million	$2.10	13.13

Atlantic Union Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Heritage Financial. Atlantic Union Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Heritage Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Atlantic Union Bankshares and Heritage Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0	3	4	0	2.57
Heritage Financial	1	2	4	0	2.43

Atlantic Union Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $46.40, suggesting a potential upside of 22.36%. Heritage Financial has a consensus price target of $32.67, suggesting a potential upside of 18.49%. Given Atlantic Union Bankshares’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Atlantic Union Bankshares is more favorable than Heritage Financial.

Dividends

Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Heritage Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 44.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Heritage Financial pays out 47.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Atlantic Union Bankshares has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and Heritage Financial has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.3% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.0% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Heritage Financial shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Atlantic Union Bankshares and Heritage Financial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic Union Bankshares	21.97%	10.55%	1.41%
Heritage Financial	20.44%	8.78%	1.15%

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats Heritage Financial on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlantic Union Bankshares

Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank that provides banking and related financial products and services to consumers and businesses in the United States. It operates in two segments, Wholesale Banking and Consumer Banking. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, time deposit, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; and other depository services. It also provides loans for commercial, industrial, residential mortgage, and consumer purposes, as well as debit and credit cards. In addition, it provides treasury management and capital market, wealth management, private banking, trust, financial and retirement planning, brokerage, investment management, equipment finance, mortgage banking, and insurance products and services. The company offers products and services through full-service branches and ATMs, as well as through its mobile and internet banking. The company was formerly known as Union Bankshares Corporation and changed its name to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation in May 2019. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Glen Allen, Virginia.

About Heritage Financial

Heritage Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Heritage Bank that provides various financial services to small and medium sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as noninterest demand deposits, interest bearing demand deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, personal checking accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company’s loan portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, owner-occupied and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans, one-to-four family residential loans, real estate construction and land development loans, consumer loans, commercial business loans, lines of credit, term equipment financing, and term real estate loans, as well as commercial business loans to a range of businesses in industries that include real estate and rental and leasing, healthcare, accommodation and food services, retail trade, and construction. It also originates loans that are guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration; and provides objective advice from trusted advisers. The company was formerly known as Heritage Financial Corporation, M.H.C. and changed its name to Heritage Financial Corporation in 1998. Heritage Financial Corporation was founded in 1927 and is headquartered in Olympia, Washington.