First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Short Interest Down 27.1% in January

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 22,900 shares, a drop of 27.1% from the January 15th total of 31,400 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 21,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

First National Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:FXNC traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $26.10. 11,473 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 19,386. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $24.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $234.12 million, a P/E ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.54. First National has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $26.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.19. First National had a return on equity of 12.09% and a net margin of 7.51%. Analysts predict that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FXNC shares. Hovde Group cut First National from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $28.50 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Janney Montgomery Scott cut First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Trading of First National

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of First National in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. PL Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First National in the fourth quarter worth $78,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of First National in the third quarter worth $88,000. Salzhauer Michael bought a new stake in shares of First National in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of First National by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the period. 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.