De Lisle Partners LLP Invests $4.15 Million in First National Corp. $FXNC

De Lisle Partners LLP bought a new position in First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 138,113 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,152,000. De Lisle Partners LLP owned about 1.53% of First National as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of FXNC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in First National by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 11,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake 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 buying an additional 679 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of First National by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 780 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of First National by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 15,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,000 after buying an additional 959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of First National by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 11,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FXNC. Wall Street Zen raised First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on First National in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First National in a research note on Monday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

First National Stock Performance

Shares of FXNC stock opened at $31.04 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The company has a market cap of $280.60 million, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.56. First National Corp. has a 52 week low of $21.58 and a 52 week high of $33.24.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.45 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First National Corp. will post 2.44 EPS for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 28th will be given a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 28th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. First National’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.33%.

First National 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. 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.