Short Interest in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Increases By 13.6%

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw a large growth in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,900 shares, a growth of 13.6% from the July 31st total of 50,100 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 4,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 13.2 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First National news, Director James R. Wilkins III acquired 3,478 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $53,839.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,662 shares in the company, valued at $180,527.76. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director James R. Wilkins III purchased 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $26,316.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 292,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,531,661.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director James R. Wilkins III purchased 3,478 shares of First National stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.48 per share, for a total transaction of $53,839.44. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,527.76. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 18,955 shares of company stock worth $292,561. Corporate insiders own 16.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FXNC. Cutler Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First National by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 202,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First National by 13.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of First National by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First National Stock Performance

FXNC traded down $0.12 on Monday, hitting $17.28. The company had a trading volume of 500 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. First National has a 1-year low of $14.50 and a 1-year high of $21.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $16.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.29. The stock has a market cap of $108.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.53.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $14.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.90 million. First National had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 10.40%. Equities analysts predict that First National will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 13th. Investors of record on Friday, August 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. First National’s dividend payout ratio is 41.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

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.