First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) Raised to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday, Zacks reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First National in a report on Friday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

First National Price Performance

Shares of FXNC stock opened at $31.45 on Monday. First National has a 12-month low of $22.09 and a 12-month high of $33.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.73.

First National (NASDAQ:FXNC) last announced its earnings results on Friday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $25.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.27 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First National will post 2.62 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First National

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FXNC. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in First National by 6.8% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 12,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First National by 68.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 50,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 20,466 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in First National in the 1st quarter valued at about $650,000. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP acquired a new stake in First National in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,152,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.92% of the company’s stock.

About First National

First National Corporation (NASDAQ: FXNC) is a bank holding company headquartered in Strasburg, Virginia. The company operates through its principal subsidiary, First Bank, a community banking institution serving individuals, families, businesses and organizations in Virginia.

First Bank provides a range of traditional banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential real estate lending, commercial loans, mortgage services and online and mobile banking.