First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Update

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) saw a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 44,000 shares, a drop of 20.4% from the February 28th total of 55,300 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 26,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC bought a new position in shares of First National during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First National during the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Salzhauer Michael bought a new position in First National during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in First National during the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Finally, Citadel Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National in the fourth quarter valued at $261,000. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First National Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FXNC traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.21. 26,341 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 13,146. The company's 50 day moving average is $24.15 and its 200 day moving average is $22.74. First National has a one year low of $14.50 and a one year high of $26.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $199.22 million, a PE ratio of 19.15 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

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

First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.155 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. First National's payout ratio is currently 53.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented 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 target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First National from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.