First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Up 35.1% in March

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 138,530 shares, a growth of 35.1% from the February 26th total of 102,563 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 79,068 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Insider Activity at First National

In related news, CFO Brad E. Schwartz purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $26.91 per share, for a total transaction of $26,910.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 6,470 shares in the company, valued at $174,107.70. This trade represents a 18.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First National

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First National by 109.7% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 94,314 shares during the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position in First National by 92.3% during the 2nd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 138,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 66,289 shares during the last quarter. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC bought a new stake in First National during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its holdings in First National by 648.7% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 37,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $945,000 after acquiring an additional 32,437 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First National in the first quarter valued at about $598,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First National from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, First National presently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

First National Trading Up 1.0%

First National stock opened at $26.67 on Tuesday. First National has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $28.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $26.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a market capitalization of $241.10 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.51.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.60 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $23.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.60 million. First National had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 15.19%. On average, analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.52%.

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. 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.