First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Hovde Group

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was downgraded by stock analysts at Hovde Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They currently have a $28.50 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.24% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott lowered shares of First National from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First National Stock Down 0.6 %

FXNC stock opened at $26.33 on Tuesday. First National has a 52 week low of $14.50 and a 52 week high of $26.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.18 million, a P/E ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.54. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.01.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.47 by $0.19. First National had a net margin of 7.51% and a return on equity of 12.09%. Equities analysts forecast that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of First National by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First National by 13.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in First National by 0.3% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 627,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,981,000 after acquiring an additional 1,814 shares during the last quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First National during the fourth quarter worth about $78,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in First National by 8.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 50,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $882,000 after acquiring an additional 3,789 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

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.