First National Financial (TSE:FN) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

First National Financial Co. (TSE:FN) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after National Bankshares raised their price target on the stock from C$41.00 to C$42.00. National Bankshares currently has a sector perform rating on the stock. First National Financial traded as high as C$41.71 and last traded at C$41.47, with a volume of 45785 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$41.05.

FN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. CIBC boosted their price objective on First National Financial from C$40.00 to C$44.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank boosted their price target on First National Financial from C$41.00 to C$44.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their target price on First National Financial from C$42.00 to C$46.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$42.67.

Insider Transactions at First National Financial

In other news, insider FNSC Holdings Inc. bought 25,774 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 7th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$38.81 per share, for a total transaction of C$1,000,288.94. Company insiders own 71.45% of the company’s stock.

First National Financial Stock Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$38.75 and its 200-day moving average is C$37.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6,280.61, a current ratio of 8.92 and a quick ratio of 10.11. The stock has a market cap of C$2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.04.

First National Financial (TSE:FN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported C$0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.93 by C($0.04). The business had revenue of C$205.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$227.10 million. First National Financial had a return on equity of 30.22% and a net margin of 32.60%. Analysts anticipate that First National Financial Co. will post 4.0243655 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First National Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.204 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $2.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.03%. First National Financial’s payout ratio is 64.47%.

First National Financial Company Profile

First National Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, originates, underwrites, and services commercial and residential mortgages in Canada. It operates in two segments, Residential and Commercial segments. The company offers single-family and multi-unit residential, and commercial mortgages.