First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 92,632 shares, a drop of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 118,301 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,909 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 24,909 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FXNC. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First National by 109.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after acquiring an additional 94,314 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in First National by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 138,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 66,289 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in First National by 3.3% in the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 48,577 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in First National by 157.7% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 40,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after purchasing an additional 24,931 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its stake in shares of First National by 50.8% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 10,685 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $26.35. 87,869 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,310. First National has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $27.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.56. The stock has a market cap of $237.41 million, a P/E ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.49.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.02 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.60 million. First National had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 11.01%. On average, research analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. First National’s payout ratio is currently 34.52%.

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. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities.