First National Corp. (FXNC) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 28th

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Friday, December 12th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 28th. This is a 9.7% increase from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

First National has raised its dividend by an average of 0.2%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 10 consecutive years. First National has a payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that 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 Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ FXNC traded up $0.17 on Friday, reaching $24.27. The stock had a trading volume of 7,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,070. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. First National has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $26.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.53. The company has a market capitalization of $218.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FXNC. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First National by 109.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after buying an additional 94,314 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its position in First National by 92.3% in 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 last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First National by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 48,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,102,000 after purchasing an additional 1,539 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First National by 157.7% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 40,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $915,000 after buying an additional 24,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its position 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 valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 10,685 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.