First National Co. (FXNC) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 29th

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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

First National has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years. First National has a payout ratio of 26.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Up 0.1 %

FXNC traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $24.38. 5,481 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,250. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $20.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. First National has a 1-year low of $14.50 and a 1-year high of $24.59. The company has a market cap of $218.69 million, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.49.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. First National had a return on equity of 6.52% and a net margin of 8.91%. The company had revenue of $20.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FXNC. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott raised First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

First National Company Profile

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.