First National Co. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.15 (NASDAQ:FXNC)

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 14th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share on Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th.

First National has raised its dividend payment by an average of 10.9% per year over the last three years. First National has a dividend payout ratio of 27.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First National to earn $2.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.3%.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of FXNC stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Thursday, hitting $17.71. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 823 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,634. The company has a market cap of $111.17 million, a PE ratio of 12.03 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $16.33 and a 200-day moving average of $16.35. First National has a 52 week low of $14.50 and a 52 week high of $21.75.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $14.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.90 million. First National had a return on equity of 7.36% and a net margin of 10.40%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First National will post 1.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott raised First National from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $21.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, August 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First National news, Director Kirtesh Patel acquired 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $15.56 per share, for a total transaction of $116,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,747.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director James R. Wilkins III acquired 1,700 shares of First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $26,316.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 292,743 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,531,661.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kirtesh Patel acquired 7,500 shares of First National stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.56 per share, for a total transaction of $116,700.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 29,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,747.16. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 19,805 shares of company stock worth $305,821 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.48% 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.