National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) Sees Large Decrease in Short Interest

National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 49,800 shares, a decrease of 19.2% from the August 31st total of 61,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 12,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

National Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of National Bankshares stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.23. 5,084 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,854. The firm has a market cap of $172.28 million, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $29.55 and its 200 day moving average is $29.97. National Bankshares has a 1 year low of $22.28 and a 1 year high of $37.00.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The bank reported ($0.05) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.17). National Bankshares had a return on equity of 6.70% and a net margin of 12.65%. The firm had revenue of $19.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.43 million. Research analysts expect that National Bankshares will post 1.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawrence J. Ball bought 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $27.00 per share, with a total value of $27,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,576. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 2.75% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in National Bankshares by 3.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of National Bankshares by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $604,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in National Bankshares by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in National Bankshares by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 314,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,492,000 after acquiring an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

About National Bankshares

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.