First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Upgraded to Buy at Janney Montgomery Scott

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was upgraded by equities researchers at Janney Montgomery Scott from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $21.00 target price on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 18.04% from the company’s current price.

First National Price Performance

NASDAQ:FXNC opened at $17.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $111.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.53. First National has a 52-week low of $14.50 and a 52-week high of $21.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $15.69 and a 200 day moving average of $16.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $14.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.70 million. First National had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 12.21%. On average, research analysts expect that First National will post 1.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at First National

In related news, Director James R. Wilkins III acquired 1,700 shares of First National stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $26,316.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 292,743 shares in the company, valued at $4,531,661.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First National news, Director James R. Wilkins III bought 1,700 shares of First National stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $15.48 per share, with a total value of $26,316.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 292,743 shares in the company, valued at $4,531,661.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director James R. Wilkins III bought 2,000 shares of First National stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $15.34 per share, with a total value of $30,680.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 294,743 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,521,357.62. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 22,469 shares of company stock valued at $346,914 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 16.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First National

A hedge fund recently raised its stake in First National stock. Cutler Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First National Co. (NASDAQ:FXNC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,745 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. First National makes up about 1.8% of Cutler Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Cutler Capital Management LLC owned approximately 3.24% of First National worth $4,410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. 33.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.