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

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) from "hold" to Strong-Buy, and other recent upgrades have pushed the MarketBeat consensus rating to "Strong Buy".
• The company beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.78 versus $0.65 and revenue of $15.3M versus $14.5M, and it trades with a market cap of $227.7M, a PE of 13.0, and a 52‑week range of $24.74–$40.00.
• Institutional investors own about 29.73% of the stock, with several funds (including Tower Research and Royal Bank of Canada) recently increasing their positions.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on NKSH. 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 Tuesday, April 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Strong Buy".

National Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NKSH opened at $35.75 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $227.73 million, a PE ratio of 13.00 and a beta of 0.69. National Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $24.74 and a fifty-two week high of $40.00. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $36.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $34.09.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $15.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.50 million. National Bankshares had a net margin of 20.39% and a return on equity of 10.53%. Equities research analysts predict that National Bankshares will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in National Bankshares in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in National Bankshares by 398.9% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,746 shares of the bank's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,396 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in National Bankshares by 45.2% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,067 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in National Bankshares by 266.9% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,183 shares of the bank's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 3,043 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in National Bankshares by 209.9% in the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,305 shares of the bank's stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 2,916 shares during the period. 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.

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