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

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

First National has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.0% annually over the last three years. First National has a dividend payout ratio of 25.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded down $0.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.65. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,139. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.73. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $221.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.54.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on FXNC. Hovde Group downgraded First National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $28.50 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.