We recently published a list of Billionaire Ken Fisher’s 10 Finance Stock Picks with Huge Upside Potential. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) stands against other billionaire Ken Fisher’s finance stock picks with huge upside potential.
The global financial industry includes banking, insurance, asset management, and capital market sectors, and plays a significant role in supporting economic activity. According to McKinsey, the banking industry handles assets worth $400 trillion as of 2025, bringing in about $7 trillion and $1.1 trillion in annual revenue and profits, respectively. On the other hand, the broader financial services sector is on the high, increasing more than 16% in the last year (as of writing this article), beating the broader market’s 6% return for the same period. This robust growth is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2025, with the momentum driven by dropping interest rates, cooling off inflation, and investors’ faith in the sector, creating upside potential across various segments.
Despite brief macroeconomic uncertainty, the U.S. economy improved more than expected in 2024, with GDP growth hitting about 2.7%. Although the progress is expected to slow down in 2025, with growth likely dropping to around 1.5%, the financial sector is holding strong, supported by expected Fed rate cuts, steadier regulations, and a comeback in market activity. Moreover, record consumer debt of $17.7 trillion and increasing corporate refinancing needs are expected to affect borrowing patterns.
Looking ahead, financial companies stand strong to gain from the revival in financial markets, as recent forecasts indicate M&A activity, buyouts, and private lending picking up steam in 2025. Furthermore, companies are making strategic deals and investing in AI technology, fueling rapid growth in private markets. Additionally, private credit assets under management could double soon, as more businesses and individuals seek financing outside traditional banks. This surge in deals and fundraising follows several quiet years and sets up major financial players for solid profits.
In contrast, the global insurance sector is dealing with economic turbulence, high inflation, and unpredictable interest rates. Personal property and casualty insurance grew 9.5% between 2022-2023, reaching $1.1 trillion, driven mostly by rate increases rather than new businesses. Thus, the sector is focused on innovation and geographic diversification, expanding into emerging Asian and Latin American markets. At the same time, in the U.S., affordability concerns are forcing insurers and other sectors to cut costs and improve their digital services.
As such, innovation and digital transformation drive the financial sector, as banks alone have poured over $600 billion into tech upgrades, outspending even tech companies on IT, as reported by McKinsey. Despite this massive investment, labor productivity has dropped 4% over the last 15 years. This troubling decline has created pressure to make these tech investments pay off. Looking ahead, as AI, automation, and cloud are getting adopted, companies are expected to transform their business models and enhance digital services to boost efficiency and customer reach.
Meanwhile, new tariff policies are shaking up global markets, further triggering the macroeconomic uncertainty. Billionaire Ken Fisher is still critical of these measures as he argues that it is unnecessary to worry about them. He posted the following statement on X.
“What Trump unveiled on Wednesday is stupid, wrong, arrogantly extreme, ignorant trade-wise and addressing a non-problem with misguided tools. It will fade and fail and the fear is bigger than the problem, which from here is bullish.”
He strongly believes financial stocks may bounce back once the initial shock passes by, drawing a historical parallel: “It may well be this goes something like the 1998 stock market correction leading to a 26% annual return.” As interest rates drop and economic pressures ease, investors are eyeing financial companies for potential recovery gains and strategic long-term positions.
Our Methodology
To compile this list, we reviewed Ken Fisher’s SEC Q4 2024 13F filings. We picked 10 stocks that have the highest upside potential from their current levels as of April 22. Finally, we ranked the stocks in ascending order based on their highest analyst upside potential, while also laying out hedge fund sentiment for these stocks according to Insider Monkey’s Q4 2024 database.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Ken Fisher of Fisher Asset Management
Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 27
Upside Potential: 66.77%
Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) is a bank holding company for Atlantic Union Bank, providing financial services throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Its business includes Wholesale and Consumer Banking segments, which offer deposit products, home and business loans, credit options, treasury services, and wealth management. Customers can access these services through branches, ATMs, and online platforms.
For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2024, Atlantic Union’s earnings per share hit $0.67, falling short of what analysts expected. Net interest income stayed flat at $187 million, while the net interest margin dropped slightly by 5 basis points to 3.33%. Despite missing earnings targets, loans grew at an annual rate of 2.9% and deposits increased by 1.8%. The company also reduced brokered deposits by over $200 million, while credit quality stayed healthy overall. However, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) set aside $17.5 million because of issues with a specific commercial and industrial loan.
Moreover, the Sandy Spring deal should wrap up by mid-2025, with only some regulatory approvals remaining. As part of this, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) plans to sell off $2 billion in commercial real estate loans. The increased CRE payoffs in Q4 suggest that healthy refinancing activity is occurring. Furthermore, the company’s leadership is optimistic about economic conditions in Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina, where unemployment stays below the national average.
Looking ahead to 2025, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) expects loans and deposits to grow in the mid-single digits. It is expecting a net interest margin between 3.45% and 3.60%, while net interest income could reach up to $800 million, assuming the Fed cuts rates twice. Additionally, the company predicts that loan charge-offs might increase slightly, but it believes overall credit conditions should remain stable.
With its growth plans, solid fundamentals, and strong regional presence, AUB fits well in the Ken Fisher Stock Portfolio, with a value-focused investment approach. This makes Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE:AUB) worth considering even during uncertain times in the financial sector.
Overall, AUB ranks 1st on our list of billionaire Ken Fisher’s finance stock picks with huge upside potential. While we acknowledge the potential of AUB as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. There is an AI stock that went up since the beginning of 2025, while popular AI stocks lost around 25%. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than AUB but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about this cheapest AI stock.
READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires.
Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
