Short Interest in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Grows By 251.4%

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,300 shares, a growth of 251.4% from the December 15th total of 7,200 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 18,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of First National during the third quarter worth about $88,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in First National by 13.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First National by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in First National during the 4th quarter worth approximately $252,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP increased its position in First National by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FXNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

First National Price Performance

Shares of FXNC stock traded up $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $23.12. 5,155 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,232. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average of $19.88. The stock has a market cap of $207.39 million, a P/E ratio of 20.64 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. First National has a 12 month low of $14.50 and a 12 month high of $26.00.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. First National had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $20.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that First National will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a dividend of $0.155 per share. This is an increase from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.36%.

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.