First National Co. Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.16 (NASDAQ:FXNC)

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th, NASDAQ Dividends reports. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of 0.155 per share on Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th.

First National has raised its dividend by an average of 8.0% annually over the last three years. First National has a dividend payout ratio of 25.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First National to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.8%.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139. First National has a fifty-two week low of $14.50 and a fifty-two week high of $26.97. 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 capitalization of $221.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.73.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.19. First National had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 12.09%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on FXNC. Hovde Group cut First National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $28.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.