Alliancebernstein L.P. Purchases New Holdings in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC)

Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new stake in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 240,675 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,538,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 2.68% of First National as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FXNC. DAVENPORT & Co LLC bought a new stake in First National in the fourth quarter worth $678,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 3,789 shares in the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,800,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First National by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $252,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FXNC remained flat at $18.60 during midday trading on Friday. The stock had a trading volume of 17,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,054. First National Co. has a 12 month low of $14.50 and a 12 month high of $26.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $167.16 million, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.41. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.40 and its 200 day moving average is $22.81.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.19. First National had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 7.51%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First National Co. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. First National's payout ratio is currently 53.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Hovde Group downgraded shares of First National from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $28.50 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.