Fourthstone LLC Buys 269,124 Shares of First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC)

Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in shares of First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC - Free Report) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 896,591 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 269,124 shares during the period. First National makes up about 4.0% of Fourthstone LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Fourthstone LLC owned about 10.00% of First National worth $20,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FXNC. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new position in shares of First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $678,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First National during the 4th quarter valued at $1,800,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First National by 8.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company's stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. bought a new position in shares of First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,538,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First National by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FXNC remained flat at $18.60 during midday trading on Friday. 17,331 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,036. The company has a market cap of $167.16 million, a PE ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First National Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.50 and a fifty-two week high of $26.97. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.40 and its 200-day moving average is $22.84.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that First National Co. will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

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

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.