Short Interest in First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Decreases By 33.6%

Key Points

• Short interest fell 33.6% — short interest dropped to 94,272 shares as of April 15 from 141,959 on March 31, equal to 1.2% of shares short and a short-interest ratio of 1.0 day.
• Shares traded up 1.6% to $28.71; First National has a market cap of about $259.5M, a P/E of 14.57, and recently beat quarterly estimates with $0.62 EPS on $23.97M revenue.
• Investor signals: the company pays a $0.17 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.68, yield 2.4%), the CFO bought 1,000 shares in March, insiders own 14.22% and institutions ~33.9%, and Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock to a "buy."

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 94,272 shares, a decline of 33.6% from the March 31st total of 141,959 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 90,312 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days. Currently, 1.2% of the company's shares are short sold.

First National Trading Up 1.6%

FXNC traded up $0.44 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $28.71. 89,067 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,056. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.54 million, a PE ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. First National has a 52-week low of $18.31 and a 52-week high of $29.85.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 business had revenue of $23.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.60 million. First National had a return on equity of 10.82% and a net margin of 15.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First National will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. First National's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First National

In other news, CFO Brad E. Schwartz bought 1,000 shares of First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $26.91 per share, with a total value of $26,910.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 6,470 shares in the company, valued at $174,107.70. The trade was a 18.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 14.22% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FXNC. Fourthstone LLC increased its position in shares of First National by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 888,672 shares of the company's stock worth $22,430,000 after acquiring an additional 15,026 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First National by 109.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 180,312 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 94,314 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in First National by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 82,082 shares of the company's stock worth $2,072,000 after purchasing an additional 7,879 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First National by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 50,414 shares of the company's stock worth $1,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,837 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC purchased a new position in First National during the 4th quarter worth $1,084,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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 report on Friday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy".

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. 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.

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