First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Update

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,300 shares, a growth of 125.0% from the May 31st total of 6,800 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 4,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, TheStreet lowered shares of First National from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th.

First National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $15.19 on Friday. First National has a fifty-two week low of $14.50 and a fifty-two week high of $21.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.62. The company has a market capitalization of $95.39 million, a PE ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 0.51.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $14.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.70 million. First National had a net margin of 12.21% and a return on equity of 7.83%. Research analysts anticipate that First National will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. First National’s payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Insider Activity at First National

In other First National news, Director James R. Wilkins III bought 3,478 shares of First National stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $53,839.44. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 11,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,527.76. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director James R. Wilkins III bought 3,478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $53,839.44. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 11,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,527.76. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director James R. Wilkins III bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.34 per share, for a total transaction of $30,680.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 294,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,521,357.62. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 19,726 shares of company stock valued at $301,511 over the last three months. 16.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First National

An institutional investor recently raised its position in First National stock. Cutler Capital Management LLC increased its position in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 202,745 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,034 shares during the quarter. First National comprises 1.8% of Cutler Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Cutler Capital Management LLC owned approximately 3.24% of First National worth $4,410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.