National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Lowered to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

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

National Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:NKSH opened at $29.34 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $186.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23 and a beta of 0.61. National Bankshares has a 1 year low of $26.00 and a 1 year high of $35.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $29.82 and a 200-day moving average of $29.80.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. National Bankshares had a net margin of 11.44% and a return on equity of 5.85%. On average, equities research analysts predict that National Bankshares will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of National Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its position in shares of National Bankshares by 14.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 135,937 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,839,000 after purchasing an additional 17,149 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in National Bankshares during the second quarter valued at about $226,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of National Bankshares by 295.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,870 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 7,373 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Ridge Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of National Bankshares during the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,975 shares in the last quarter. 29.73% of the stock is currently owned by 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.