Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 18,280 Shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NASDAQ:AUB) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 688,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,280 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of Atlantic Union Bankshares worth $24,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AUB. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 32.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 1,128.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,398,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,358,000 after buying an additional 1,284,759 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 42,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after buying an additional 3,991 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 59,680 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,106,000 after buying an additional 14,458 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 181,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after acquiring an additional 18,107 shares in the last quarter. 78.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of AUB opened at $41.77 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $37.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.12. The company has a market capitalization of $5.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.24 and a beta of 0.83. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a fifty-two week low of $22.85 and a fifty-two week high of $42.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:AUB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.11. Atlantic Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.50% and a net margin of 15.53%.The firm had revenue of $391.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $378.95 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.55%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AUB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $41.50 to $47.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $41.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Raymond James Financial set a $45.00 price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $42.55.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Profile

Atlantic Union Bankshares, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, operating through its principal subsidiary Atlantic Union Bank. The company offers a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses and institutions across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and the District of Columbia. Leveraging a network of full-service branches, commercial lending offices and digital platforms, Atlantic Union Bankshares focuses on relationship-driven solutions tailored to its regional client base.

Atlantic Union’s product lineup includes traditional deposit accounts, such as checking, savings and money market accounts, along with certificates of deposit.