National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Upgraded to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

National Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NKSH stock opened at $39.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $253.53 million, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.46. National Bankshares has a one year low of $27.00 and a one year high of $41.32.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.79 EPS 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. On average, research analysts expect that National Bankshares will post 3.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of National Bankshares

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in National Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake 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 worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 45.2% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,067 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 266.9% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of National Bankshares by 209.9% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,305 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

National Bankshares Company Profile

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.