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

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,300 shares, an increase of 251.4% from the December 15th total of 7,200 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 18,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FXNC. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First National by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company’s stock valued at $882,000 after purchasing an additional 3,789 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in shares of First National in the third quarter valued at $88,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of First National by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of First National by 0.3% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

First National Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ FXNC traded down $0.04 on Monday, hitting $22.60. 4,218 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,074. First National has a 52-week low of $14.50 and a 52-week high of $26.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market capitalization of $202.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.18 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $19.77.

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

First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given 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 2.74%. First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FXNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First National in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company.

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.