First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FXNC. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in First National by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First National by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in First National by 41.3% during the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $678,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of First National by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $24.87. The stock had a trading volume of 9,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 15,408. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $24.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.42. The company has a market capitalization of $223.08 million, a PE ratio of 22.21 and a beta of 0.54. First National has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $26.00.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The business had revenue of $20.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 million. First National had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 6.52%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. First National’s payout ratio is presently 55.36%.

About First National

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.