National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.15 and traded as high as $36.50. National Bankshares shares last traded at $36.12, with a volume of 77,278 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on NKSH shares. Wall Street Zen raised National Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings raised National Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered National Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, National Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy”.

National Bankshares Trading Up 2.4%

The firm has a market capitalization of $239.25 million, a PE ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.17.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $15.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.50 million. National Bankshares had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 20.39%. Research analysts forecast that National Bankshares, Inc. will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

National Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a yield of 427.0%. National Bankshares’s payout ratio is 54.55%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKSH. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of National Bankshares by 17.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 28,980 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,310 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in National Bankshares by 209.9% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,305 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,916 shares during the period. State of Wyoming lifted its position in National Bankshares by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. 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.