National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Monday.

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

National Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:NKSH opened at $31.82 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $30.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.85. National Bankshares has a 1-year low of $25.18 and a 1-year high of $37.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.38 million, a P/E ratio of 21.94 and a beta of 0.56.

National Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 5%. This is a positive change from National Bankshares’s previous semi-annual dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. National Bankshares’s payout ratio is 107.59%.

Institutional Trading of National Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKSH. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in National Bankshares by 290.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 5,569 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of National Bankshares by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 138,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after purchasing an additional 5,975 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in National Bankshares by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,406 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,374,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in National Bankshares by 71.7% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,757 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in National Bankshares by 16.7% in 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 during the period. 29.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Bankshares Company Profile

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.