Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 272,119 Shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. $AUB

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. (NYSE:AUB) by 40.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 951,373 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 272,119 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares were worth $34,002,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares by 634.3% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 41,902 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after buying an additional 36,196 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 53,232 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 36.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,137,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,548,000 after buying an additional 565,564 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Atlantic Union Bankshares in the first quarter worth about $3,011,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Atlantic Union Bankshares by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 249,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,766,000 after acquiring an additional 22,078 shares in the last quarter. 78.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Nancy H. Agee acquired 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $39.05 per share, for a total transaction of $25,382.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 37,797 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,475,972.85. This represents a 1.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of AUB opened at $42.64 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.10 billion, a PE ratio of 18.07 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. has a fifty-two week low of $30.39 and a fifty-two week high of $43.62. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.24.

Atlantic Union Bankshares (NYSE:AUB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.03). Atlantic Union Bankshares had a net margin of 15.50% and a return on equity of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $371.71 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $391.24 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Atlantic Union Bankshares Co. will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlantic Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Atlantic Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on Atlantic Union Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. They set a “buy (b-)” rating on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $44.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of Atlantic Union Bankshares in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atlantic Union Bankshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Atlantic Union Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.62.

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.