First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Rating Lowered to “Neutral” at Janney Montgomery Scott

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

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

First National Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of FXNC opened at $25.30 on Wednesday. First National has a fifty-two week low of $14.50 and a fifty-two week high of $25.51. The business has a 50-day moving average of $21.44 and a 200 day moving average of $18.14. The firm has a market cap of $226.94 million, a P/E ratio of 22.59 and a beta of 0.53. 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 (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $20.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.40 million. First National had a net margin of 8.91% and a return on equity of 6.52%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that First National will post 1.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. purchased a new stake in First National during the 3rd quarter valued at about $88,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First National by 13.0% in 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 last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of First National by 5.2% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 670 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of First National by 41.3% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 35,895 shares of the company’s stock worth $642,000 after purchasing an additional 10,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First National by 8.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after buying an additional 3,789 shares during the period. 33.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.