Analyzing Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) & Commercial Bancgroup (NASDAQ:CBK)

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

Dividends

Atlantic Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Commercial Bancgroup pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Atlantic Union Bankshares pays out 40.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Commercial Bancgroup pays out 16.4% 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. Atlantic Union Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.6% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Atlantic Union Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 36.2% of Commercial Bancgroup shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic Union Bankshares	23.97%	10.79%	1.45%
Commercial Bancgroup	30.07%	14.06%	1.72%

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Atlantic Union Bankshares and Commercial Bancgroup”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic Union Bankshares	$1.53 billion	3.73	$273.71 million	$3.66	10.91
Commercial Bancgroup	$131.53 million	3.36	$37.20 million	$2.92	11.03

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Atlantic Union Bankshares and Commercial Bancgroup, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic Union Bankshares	0	3	4	0	2.57
Commercial Bancgroup	1	0	1	0	2.00

Atlantic Union Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $45.80, suggesting a potential upside of 14.68%. Commercial Bancgroup has a consensus target price of $39.50, suggesting a potential upside of 22.59%. Given Commercial Bancgroup’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Commercial Bancgroup is more favorable than Atlantic Union Bankshares.

Summary

Atlantic Union Bankshares beats Commercial Bancgroup on 9 of the 16 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 Commercial Bancgroup

We are a bank holding company headquartered in Harrogate, Tennessee, and have elected under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHC Act”), to become a financial holding company. We were incorporated in Tennessee in 1975, and we operate primarily through our wholly owned bank subsidiary, Commercial Bank, a Tennessee banking corporation organized in 1976. The Bank is a full-service community banking institution that offers traditional consumer and commercial products and services to serve businesses and individuals in select markets in Kentucky, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Our primary service areas in Tennessee are (i) the metropolitan statistical areas (the “MSAs”) of (a) Nashville-Davidson — Murfreesboro — Franklin, Tennessee (the “Nashville MSA”), (b) Knoxville, Tennessee (the “Knoxville MSA”), and (c) Kingsport-Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia and Johnson City, Tennessee (collectively, the “Tri-Cities MSA”), and (ii) Claiborne County, Cocke County, Union County, and Hamblen County, and their surrounding areas. In Kentucky, we primarily serve the communities in Southeast Kentucky, with branches in Barbourville, Corbin, Cumberland, Harlan, London, Middlesboro, and Pineville. Upon the Bank’s merger with Alliance Bank & Trust Company (“Alliance”) on July 1, 2024, we expanded our services to North Carolina, including parts of the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, North Carolina-South Carolina MSA (the “Charlotte MSA”), with branches in Shelby, Kings Mountain and Gastonia. We also operate one loan production office (“LPO”) in Lincolnton, North Carolina. The Bank was founded as Commercial Bank of Claiborne County, a full-service Tennessee-chartered bank, by E. Oscar Robertson on June 9, 1976. On November 1, 1976, the Bank opened for business in Harrogate, Tennessee. Approximately three years later, on January 8, 1979, we opened our first branch in Speedwell, Tennessee. In the following years, our growth has been driven primarily by organic expansion in existing markets and into new markets and through our strategic acquisitions. Over the last five years, we have had a total asset compound annual growth rate (“CAGR”) of 8% while maintaining profitability, credit quality and prudent capital management. Please refer to the “Total Assets” chart below on page 2 of this prospectus for the annual growth in our total assets for each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 through 2024 and for the six months ended June 30, 2025. The following information summarizes our growth history: • On April 23, 1986, we acquired Union County Bank’s three branch locations in Maynardville and Luttrell, Tennessee through an FDIC-assisted transaction. • On November 16, 2001, we acquired Middlesboro Federal Bank (Middlesboro, Kentucky) with its four offices located in Middlesboro, Pineville, and Cumberland, Kentucky, and in the Fountain City community of Knoxville, Tennessee. • On September 8, 2008, we acquired The Union National Bank and Trust Company of Barbourville (Barbourville, Kentucky) with its five branch locations in Barbourville and Corbin, Kentucky. • By the end of 2008, our total assets had increased to over $700 million. • On March 1, 2014, we opened an LPO in Nashville, Tennessee, and by December 31, 2014, we had over $18 million in outstanding loan balances in the Nashville MSA. • On April 18, 2016, we acquired National Bank of Tennessee (Newport, Tennessee), which added two new branches to our network. • On August 15, 2017, we announced the acquisition of Citizens Bank (New Tazewell, Tennessee) with its three branch locations in New Tazewell, Harrogate, and Morristown, Tennessee, and an LPO in Kingsport, Tennessee, which was merged into our current Kingsport, Tennessee office. • On March 1, 2019, we transitioned our LPO in Nashville, Tennessee to a full-service branch in Brentwood, Tennessee (part of the Nashville MSA). As of March 31, 2019, we had over $110 million in outstanding loan balances in the Nashville MSA. • On February 1, 2020, we acquired First National Bank and Trust (London, Kentucky) with its four branches in London and Corbin, Kentucky resulting in our total assets exceeding $1.5 billion. • On June 1, 2023, we acquired a majority ownership interest in AB&T Financial Corporation (“AB&T”) (Gastonia, North Carolina), the parent company of Alliance. On June 30, 2024, we acquired the remaining minority ownership interests in AB&T, and on July 1, 2024, Alliance merged with the Bank. The acquisition of Alliance added four branches and one LPO to our network and expanded our reach into North Carolina, including the Charlotte MSA. • We expect to open a de novo branch office in Belmont, North Carolina during 2026, which will further increase our presence in the Charlotte MSA. Our principal executive office is located in Harrogate, Tennessee.