First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Raises Dividend to $0.16 Per Share

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be paid a dividend of 0.155 per share on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

First National has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. First National has a payout ratio of 26.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First National to earn $2.25 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 27.6%.

First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $24.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $222.28 million, a PE ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.62 and its 200-day moving average is $17.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First National has a 52 week low of $14.50 and a 52 week high of $24.92.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. The company had revenue of $20.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on FXNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First National in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 target price on the 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.