First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Shares Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) shares traded down 0.3% during trading on Monday. The company traded as low as $29.79 and last traded at $29.96. 19,588 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average session volume of 25,982 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of First National in a report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First National in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

First National Stock Performance

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 fifty day moving average price of $30.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.35. The stock has a market cap of $271.11 million, a P/E ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.47.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.04. First National had a net margin of 18.43% and a return on equity of 11.50%. The firm had revenue of $23.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.45 million. On average, equities analysts expect that First National Corp. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 28th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.33%.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of First National during the second quarter valued at about $4,152,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First National by 68.7% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 20,466 shares during the period. Piedmont Capital Management LLC NC bought a new position in First National in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,084,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in First National in the 1st quarter worth about $650,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in First National by 6.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

About First National

First National Corporation (NASDAQ: FXNC) is a bank holding company for First Bank, a community banking institution headquartered in Strasburg, Virginia. The company serves individuals, businesses and community organizations through a network of banking offices and digital banking channels.

First Bank offers a range of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts. Its lending services include residential and commercial real estate loans, construction and land development financing, business loans, home equity products and consumer loans.