Atlantic Union (AUB Quick QuoteAUB - Free Report) shares ended the last trading session 5.1% higher at $34.15. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 13% loss over the past four weeks.

Bullish investor sentiments surrounding the robust banking sector performance in to the next year drove Atlantic Union stock. The prospect of a tighter monetary policy – faster pace of asset purchase tapering that will position the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in mid-2022 if higher inflation continues to prevail – largely led to optimistic stance. This likely sparked investors’ interest in Atlantic Union’s stock, given its asset-sensitive balance sheet.

This holding company for Atlantic Union Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.73 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -21.5%. Revenues are expected to be $166.3 million, down 6.5% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Atlantic Union, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on AUB going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>