Fourthstone LLC Raises Stock Position in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC)

Fourthstone LLC lifted its position in shares of First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 627,467 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares during the quarter. First National accounts for about 2.4% of Fourthstone LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Fourthstone LLC owned about 9.99% of First National worth $10,981,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new position in First National in the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised 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 valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First National by 13.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in First National by 41.3% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FXNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First National in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock.

First National Trading Up 1.8 %

FXNC traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $24.78. 23,523 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,344. First National Co. has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $24.92. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.76. The firm has a market cap of $222.28 million, a P/E ratio of 22.13 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36. First National had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $20.65 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that First National Co. will post 1.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First National Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This represents a $0.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a boost from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.36%.

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.