Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 12,407 Shares of National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of National Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:NKSH) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 169,584 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,407 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in National Bankshares were worth $4,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 71.7% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,757 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 79,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after acquiring an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,268 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 290.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 5,569 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of National Bankshares by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 138,246 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,134,000 after acquiring an additional 5,975 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 29.73% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on NKSH. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of National Bankshares from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of National Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 1st.

Insider Transactions at National Bankshares

In related news, Director Lawrence J. Ball bought 1,000 shares of National Bankshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $27.50 per share, with a total value of $27,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,906 shares in the company, valued at $602,415. The trade was a 4.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 2.75% of the company’s stock.

National Bankshares Price Performance

National Bankshares stock opened at $27.13 on Friday. National Bankshares, Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.00 and a 1-year high of $35.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $172.57 million, a P/E ratio of 22.24 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.32 and its 200 day moving average is $29.41.

National Bankshares (NASDAQ:NKSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48. National Bankshares had a net margin of 9.64% and a return on equity of 5.00%. Research analysts anticipate that National Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.