First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Hovde Group

Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded First National from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $21.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 1st.

First National Trading Up 3.2 %

First National stock opened at $18.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.52. First National has a 52 week low of $14.50 and a 52 week high of $21.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.23.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.04. First National had a return on equity of 7.29% and a net margin of 10.40%. The business had revenue of $14.18 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.90 million. Research analysts forecast that First National will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

First National Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a None dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. First National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

An institutional investor recently raised its position in First National stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 7.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 875 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned 0.19% of First National worth $194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.