Short Interest in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Expands By 120.3%

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 55,300 shares, a growth of 120.3% from the February 13th total of 25,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on FXNC. Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group downgraded First National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

First National Stock Performance

FXNC stock opened at $22.25 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $24.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $199.58 million, a P/E ratio of 19.18 and a beta of 0.57. First National has a 1-year low of $14.50 and a 1-year high of $26.97.

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

First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.155 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 53.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First National

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC bought a new position in First National in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fourthstone LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First National by 20.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,041 shares of the company’s stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First National during the fourth quarter valued at about $78,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.