Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stock Holdings in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 13,530 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 670 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in First National were worth $237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Separately, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First National by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FXNC shares. Hovde Group began coverage on First National in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FXNC opened at $24.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $218.42 million, a PE ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $20.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.71. First National Co. has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $24.59.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 1st. The company reported $0.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.36. First National had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $20.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that First National Co. will post 1.86 earnings per share for the current year.

First National Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be issued a $0.155 dividend. This is a positive change from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. First National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.57%.

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.