First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 92,632 shares, a decrease of 21.7% from the December 31st total of 118,301 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 24,909 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 24,909 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey acquired a new stake in shares of First National during the second quarter worth about $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in First National by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in First National by 5,013.2% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new stake in First National in the second quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First National in the second quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, First National currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

First National Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of First National stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.35. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 87,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 26,310. First National has a twelve month low of $18.26 and a twelve month high of $27.55. The stock has a market cap of $237.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.33 and a 200-day moving average of $23.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $5.02 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.60 million. First National had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 11.01%. Research analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

First National Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 28th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 28th. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.52%.

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. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities.