Short Interest in First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Increases By 35.1%

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 138,530 shares, an increase of 35.1% from the February 26th total of 102,563 shares. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 79,068 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First National from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy”.

First National Price Performance

First National stock traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $26.67. 65,785 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 67,231. The company has a market capitalization of $241.10 million, a PE ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.79 and a 200 day moving average of $24.92. First National has a 1-year low of $18.26 and a 1-year high of $28.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. First National had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $23.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.52%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Brad E. Schwartz bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $26.91 per share, for a total transaction of $26,910.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 6,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $174,107.70. This represents a 18.28% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 14.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fourthstone LLC boosted its holdings in First National by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 888,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,430,000 after acquiring an additional 15,026 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in First National by 109.7% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 94,314 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position in First National by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 138,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,689,000 after purchasing an additional 66,289 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of First National by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First National by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.