Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC Acquires New Shares in First National Corp. $FXNC

Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC acquired a new stake in First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 42,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,084,000. First National makes up approximately 0.7% of Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC owned about 0.48% of First National as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in First National by 648.7% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 37,437 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after purchasing an additional 32,437 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First National by 15.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 29,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,000 after purchasing an additional 4,086 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in First National by 50.8% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 31,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 10,685 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in First National by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 16,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 2,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First National by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

First National Stock Performance

First National stock opened at $30.19 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.10 and a 200-day moving average of $26.82. First National Corp. has a one year low of $18.31 and a one year high of $30.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $272.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.45.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.02. First National had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The company had revenue of $22.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.30 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First National Corp. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.18%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First National from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

First National 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. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities.