First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Shares Up 3% – Still a Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

First National Corp. (NASDAQ:FXNC – Get Free Report)’s stock price traded up 3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $30.51 and last traded at $30.36. Approximately 56,568 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 29% from the average session volume of 79,649 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.49.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FXNC shares. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on First National in a research note on Thursday, June 25th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First National in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First National has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

View Our Latest Research Report on FXNC

First National Stock Up 3.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $28.79 and its 200-day moving average is $27.57. The company has a market capitalization of $274.45 million, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. First National had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 11.48%. The business had revenue of $22.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.30 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First National Corp. will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

First National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 29th were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 29th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. First National’s dividend payout ratio is 29.18%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First National

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in First National by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in First National by 5,013.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 3,409 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in shares of First National during the second quarter valued at about $72,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First National during the second quarter valued at about $83,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First National during the fourth quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

About First National

(Get Free Report)

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. Its loan products comprise construction loans, including residential, land acquisition, and development loans; 1-4 family residential real estate loans; and commercial real estate loans that are secured by commercial real estate, including multi-family residential buildings, office and retail buildings, hotels, industrial buildings, and religious facilities.

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