First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Down 27.1% in January

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw 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. Based on an average daily volume of 21,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

First National Price Performance

Shares of First National stock traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $26.10. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,386. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.33. First National has a 12-month low of $14.50 and a 12-month high of $26.97. The company has a market cap of $234.12 million, a PE ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.54. 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 (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced 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 return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 7.51%. Analysts expect that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FXNC. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in shares of First National in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National in the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in shares of First National in the third quarter worth about $88,000. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new stake in shares of First National in the fourth quarter worth about $202,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of First National by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group downgraded First National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $28.50 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

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.