Short Interest in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Increases By 251.4%

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,300 shares, a growth of 251.4% from the December 15th total of 7,200 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

First National Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ FXNC traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.60. 4,218 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 10,074. First National has a twelve month low of $14.50 and a twelve month high of $26.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $23.82 and its 200-day moving average is $19.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. First National had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $20.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a $0.155 dividend. This is a positive change from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.74%. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FXNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group began coverage on First National in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of First National by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of First National by 13.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in First National by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,981,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First National by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of First National during the third quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

First National Company Profile

First National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First Bank that provides various commercial banking services to small and medium-sized businesses, individuals, estates, local governmental entities, and non-profit organizations in Virginia. The company's deposit products include checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit and treasury management solutions.