First National Corp. $FXNC Stake Increased by De Lisle Partners LLP

De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its holdings in First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 92.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,113 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 66,289 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 1.54% of First National worth $2,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in First National by 157.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 40,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 24,931 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National in the second quarter worth approximately $403,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First National by 6.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in First National during the first quarter valued at approximately $598,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First National by 109.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 94,314 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First National Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $24.49 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $21.85. First National Corp. has a 52 week low of $18.26 and a 52 week high of $26.97. The company has a market capitalization of $220.63 million, a P/E ratio of 24.49 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58. The firm had revenue of $22.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.70 million. First National had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 10.53%. On average, research analysts forecast that First National Corp. will post 2.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 12th. Investors of record on Friday, November 28th will be issued a $0.17 dividend. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First National in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.50.

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.