First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Lowered to Neutral Rating by Janney Montgomery Scott

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was downgraded by analysts at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

Separately, Hovde Group started coverage on First National in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock.

First National Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of FXNC stock opened at $24.92 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. First National has a twelve month low of $14.50 and a twelve month high of $25.41. The company has a market capitalization of $223.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.25 and a beta of 0.53.

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

Institutional Trading of First National

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First National by 13.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in First National by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. acquired a new stake in First National in the 3rd quarter valued at $88,000. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its stake in First National by 41.3% in the 3rd quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 10,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in First National by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,981,000 after buying an additional 1,814 shares in the last quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.