Short Interest in National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) Declines By 19.2%

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Lawrence J. Ball purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 20,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,576. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of National Bankshares during the second quarter worth $226,000. Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in National Bankshares by 14.4% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 135,937 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,839,000 after acquiring an additional 17,149 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in National Bankshares by 2.4% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 21,370 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in National Bankshares by 2.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $683,000 after purchasing an additional 471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of National Bankshares by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 11,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $400,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

National Bankshares Stock Up 1.3 %

National Bankshares stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.23. 5,084 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,854. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.28 million, a P/E ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.56. National Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $22.28 and a fifty-two week high of $37.00.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The bank reported ($0.05) EPS 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 business had revenue of $19.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.43 million. Research analysts expect that National Bankshares will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

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.