National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) Short Interest Down 19.2% in September

National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 12,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

National Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NKSH stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.23. The company had a trading volume of 5,084 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,854. National Bankshares has a 12-month low of $22.28 and a 12-month high of $37.00. The company has a market capitalization of $172.28 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $29.55 and a 200-day moving average of $29.97.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Lawrence J. Ball bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $27.00 per share, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,688 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,576. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On National Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of National Bankshares by 67.0% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,821 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $94,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of National Bankshares in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. Cascade Wealth Advisors Inc purchased a new position in shares of National Bankshares during the 1st quarter worth $357,000. 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. 29.73% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

National Bankshares Company Profile

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.