StockNews.com Downgrades National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) to Sell

StockNews.com lowered shares of National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSHFree Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Friday.

Separately, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded National Bankshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd.

Read Our Latest Research Report on National Bankshares

National Bankshares Price Performance

NKSH stock opened at $29.34 on Friday. National Bankshares has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $35.00. The company has a market capitalization of $186.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.81.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSHGet Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. National Bankshares had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 11.44%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that National Bankshares will post 1.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

National Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This is an increase from National Bankshares’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a dividend yield of 5%. National Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 107.59%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On National Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in National Bankshares by 2.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in National Bankshares by 16.7% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 3,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $105,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in National Bankshares by 3.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,268 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in National Bankshares by 0.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in National Bankshares by 71.7% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,757 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

About National Bankshares

(Get Free Report)

National Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for the National Bank of Blacksburg that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individuals, businesses, non-profits, and local governments. The company accepts interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, certificates of deposit, health savings accounts, and individual retirement accounts.

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