First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Announces $0.17 Quarterly Dividend

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of 0.17 per share on Friday, September 11th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 28th.

First National has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 10 years. First National has a dividend payout ratio of 29.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First National to earn $2.58 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.4%.

First National Price Performance

Shares of FXNC stock traded down $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.80. 5,815 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 65,517. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.35. First National has a 1-year low of $21.58 and a 1-year high of $33.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $287.43 million, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.42.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.45 million. First National had a return on equity of 11.62% and a net margin of 18.43%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First National will post 2.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First National

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in First National by 59.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of First National by 5,013.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of First National during the second quarter worth about $72,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First National during the second quarter worth about $83,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First National in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities.