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

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was downgraded by research analysts at Hovde Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. They presently have a $28.50 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.20% from the stock’s previous close.

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

First National Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $26.10 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. First National has a 12-month low of $14.50 and a 12-month high of $26.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $234.12 million, a P/E ratio of 22.50 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First National by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 13,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 1,595 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First National by 5.2% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 670 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. bought a new stake in shares of First National during the third quarter worth $88,000. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its position 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 acquiring 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 worth $10,981,000 after purchasing an additional 1,814 shares during the period. 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.