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

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was downgraded by equities researchers at Hovde Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report released on Tuesday,Finviz reports. They presently have a $28.50 target price on the stock. Hovde Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 8.24% 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th.

First National Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of FXNC stock opened at $26.33 on Tuesday. First National has a 1 year low of $14.50 and a 1 year high of $26.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $21.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $236.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70 and a beta of 0.54.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First National will post 2.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. PL Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First National during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Salzhauer Michael purchased a new position in First National in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of First National by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after buying an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National during the fourth quarter valued at $678,000. Finally, Founders Grove Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First National during the fourth quarter valued at $252,000. Institutional investors 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.