Short Interest in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Drops By 27.1%

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,900 shares, a decline of 27.1% from the January 15th total of 31,400 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 21,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

First National Stock Performance

FXNC traded down $0.42 on Thursday, reaching $25.40. The company had a trading volume of 26,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,540. First National has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $26.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.84 million, a PE ratio of 21.90 and a beta of 0.54. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.50.

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

First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group cut 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First National from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC grew 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 buying an additional 600 shares during the period. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in First National during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in First National by 0.3% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company's stock worth $10,981,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First National by 20.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 14,041 shares of the company's stock worth $323,000 after buying an additional 2,398 shares during the period. Finally, PL Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First National during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.