First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Raises Dividend to $0.17 Per Share

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 28th will be given a dividend of 0.17 per share on Friday, December 12th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 28th. This is a 9.7% increase from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16.

First National has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.2%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 10 years. First National has a payout ratio of 26.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First National to earn $2.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.8%.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FXNC traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.29. The company had a trading volume of 6,327 shares, compared to its average volume of 25,064. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. First National has a 1 year low of $18.26 and a 1 year high of $26.97. The company has a market capitalization of $218.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.29 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $22.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $21.53.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.58 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58. First National had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The firm had revenue of $22.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.70 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First National in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, First National currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.50.

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.