First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Up 120.3% in February

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 55,300 shares, a growth of 120.3% from the February 13th total of 25,100 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 25,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FXNC. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in shares of First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new position in First National in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Salzhauer Michael bought a new position in First National in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First National by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

First National Stock Up 2.2 %

FXNC stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,482. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $24.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.19. First National has a twelve month low of $14.50 and a twelve month high of $26.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.12 million, a P/E 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.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced 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, equities research analysts predict that First National will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 53.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on FXNC shares. Janney Montgomery Scott cut shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group cut 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 note on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.