First National Q1 EPS rises on deposit growth

Overview

• U.S. community bank's Q1 adjusted EPS rose yr/yr to $0.54

• Net interest income for Q1 declined slightly from prior quarter on lower average interest-earning assets

• Company reported improved asset quality with non-performing assets declining to 0.21% of total assets

Outlook

• Company expects recent loan production to benefit future results

Result Drivers

• LATE QUARTER LOAN GROWTH - Loan production was weak early in Q1 but picked up in March, lifting loan balances for the quarter

• STRONG DEPOSIT FLOWS - Deposit growth was robust, with an 8.4% annualized rate, mainly in lower-cost demand and interest-bearing accounts

• NONINTEREST INCOME DECLINE - Noninterest income fell from the prior quarter, mainly due to the absence of a one-time loan recovery and lower income from several fee categories

Company press release: ID:nGNXvHzpp

Key Details

Analyst Coverage

• The current average analyst rating on the shares is "hold" and the breakdown of recommendations is no "strong buy" or "buy", 2 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

• The average consensus recommendation for the banks peer group is "buy."

• Wall Street's median 12-month price target for First National Corp is $28.00, about 0.2% above its April 29 closing price of $27.95

• The stock recently traded at 12 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 11 three months ago

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