First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Up 6.6% in September

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 62,800 shares, a growth of 6.6% from the August 31st total of 58,900 shares. Currently, 1.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 15.3 days.

First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $18.03 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $113.17 million, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 0.52. First National has a twelve month low of $14.50 and a twelve month high of $21.75. The company has a fifty day moving average of $17.31 and a 200-day moving average of $16.21. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $14.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.90 million. First National had a net margin of 10.40% and a return on equity of 7.29%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First National will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. First National’s payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in First National by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $194,000 after purchasing an additional 875 shares during the period. Cutler Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First National by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 202,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,410,000 after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position 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 worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.