National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

NKSH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of National Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of National Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has given a Buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Strong Buy”.

National Bankshares Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:NKSH opened at $39.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $253.53 million, a PE ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.62. National Bankshares has a 12-month low of $27.00 and a 12-month high of $41.32. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $36.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $36.46.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.01). National Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.79% and a net margin of 23.22%.The company had revenue of $15.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.65 million. Research analysts predict that National Bankshares will post 3.52 EPS for the current year.

National Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a yield of 427.0%. National Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 7.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 154,273 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,197,000 after buying an additional 10,437 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 398.9% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,746 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of National Bankshares during the second quarter valued at $36,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of National Bankshares by 37.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,493 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after acquiring an additional 1,774 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of National Bankshares by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 334,517 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,848,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

About National Bankshares

National Bankshares, Inc is a Virginia-based bank holding company headquartered in Reston. Through its primary subsidiaries, National Bank of Blacksburg and The Bank of Giles and Montgomery, the company offers a full suite of community banking services to individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations.

The company’s core activities include deposit-taking, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage origination and servicing, trust and wealth management, and electronic banking platforms.