First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Up 251.4% in January

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in First National during the 3rd quarter worth $88,000. Salzhauer Michael acquired a new position in shares of First National during the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted 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 worth $211,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew 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. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National during the 4th quarter valued at about $252,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC traded up $0.18 on Thursday, hitting $25.16. The company had a trading volume of 10,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,744. The company has a market cap of $225.69 million, a PE ratio of 22.46 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.09 and a 200 day moving average of $20.52. First National has a 52-week low of $14.50 and a 52-week high of $26.00. 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 (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First National will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. First National’s payout ratio is 55.36%.

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.