First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Up 251.4% in January

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FXNC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on FXNC

Institutional Trading of First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First National by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in First National by 5.2% during the third 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 period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of First National during the third quarter valued at about $88,000. De Lisle Partners LLP raised its stake in shares of First National by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Finally, Fourthstone LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.00. The stock had a trading volume of 2,919 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,700. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $24.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The stock has a market cap of $224.21 million, a PE ratio of 22.32 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:FXNCGet Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. The firm had revenue of $20.65 million for 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.50 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.48%. This is a positive change from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. First National’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

First National Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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