Brad Schwartz Buys 1,000 Shares of First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Stock

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) CFO Brad Schwartz purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $26.91 per share, for a total transaction of $26,910.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 6,470 shares in the company, valued at approximately $174,107.70. The trade was a 18.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

First National Stock Down 0.3%

First National stock opened at $26.68 on Friday. First National Corp. has a one year low of $18.26 and a one year high of $28.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $26.44 and a 200 day moving average of $24.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market cap of $240.41 million, a PE ratio of 13.54 and a beta of 0.51.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.60 by $0.02. First National had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 15.19%.The business had revenue of $23.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.60 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First National Corp. will post 2.25 EPS for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 13th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. First National’s payout ratio is 34.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FXNC. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in First National during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of First National by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of First National by 5,013.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 3,409 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. purchased a new position in shares of First National during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new position in First National in the 2nd quarter worth $83,000. 33.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First National in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

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.