First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) Raises Dividend to $0.16 Per Share

First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 13th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th will be given a dividend of 0.155 per share on Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This is a positive change from First National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

First National has increased its dividend by an average of 10.9% annually over the last three years. First National has a payout ratio of 26.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First National to earn $2.25 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.62 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 27.6%.

First National Stock Up 0.1 %

First National stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $24.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,250. The company has a market cap of $218.69 million, a P/E ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.71. First National has a fifty-two week low of $14.50 and a fifty-two week high of $24.59.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.