American National Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ:AMNB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

American National Bankshares Inc. (NASDAQ:AMNB – Get Rating) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 61,700 shares, a drop of 7.8% from the February 13th total of 66,900 shares. Currently, 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 15,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

American National Bankshares Trading Up 3.9 %

AMNB stock opened at $31.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $337.19 million, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 0.94. American National Bankshares has a one year low of $29.44 and a one year high of $38.89. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $34.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

American National Bankshares (NASDAQ:AMNB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $27.90 million for the quarter. American National Bankshares had a net margin of 29.99% and a return on equity of 10.58%.

American National Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 2nd. American National Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded shares of American National Bankshares from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, December 12th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of American National Bankshares in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey V. Haley bought 2,955 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $31.67 per share, with a total value of $93,584.85. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 83,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,648,245.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMNB. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of American National Bankshares by 41.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 15,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $565,000 after acquiring an additional 4,388 shares in the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American National Bankshares by 58.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 6,847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American National Bankshares by 50.4% in the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 4,990 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of American National Bankshares by 2.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 432,592 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,300,000 after purchasing an additional 8,302 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of American National Bankshares by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 497,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,738,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. 39.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About American National Bankshares

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American National Bankshares, Inc (Virginia) is a one-bank holding company, which engages in the provision of financial products and services. It offers commercial, mortgage and consumer banking, trust and investment services, and insurance. It operates through the following segments: Community Banking, Trust and Investment Services, and Other.