Shares of ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) are currently poised at -0.86% from the open today and are trading at $40.50. More than 145,502 shares have exchanged hands compared to an average trading volume of 2.87K. At the current pps, the market cap stands at $133.00M. The stock prices of ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) are currently trading at 8.43% below its 52 week high and 66.60% above its 52 week low.
ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) has been in the news for all the right reasons. Recently, ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) announced today its unaudited preliminary operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017. The Company reported net income of $1.8 million, or $0.50 per diluted common share, for the quarter ended March 31, 2017 compared to net income of $1.1 million, or $0.30 per diluted common share, for the same quarter of 2016.
ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) is all set to announce its earnings on May 12. As per Zack’s analyst ratings, ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) currently has an average brokerage rating of . On a scale of 1 to 5, a rating of 1 or 2 would indicate a buy, and a rating of 4 or 5 would signify a sell recommendation. A rating of 3 would indicate a hold on the stock. The consensus target price on (NASDAQ:ASBB) is $ with a high of $ and a low of $.
The Exponential Moving Average (EMA) is similar to a simple moving average (average price over a set period) but it utilizes a weighting factor that exponentially declines from the most recent data point (recent prices are weighted higher than oil prices). EMA analysis compares the short term (5 days and 13 days), intermediate term (20 days) and long term (50 days) EMA’s. The respective EMA’s will give bullish signals when trading above trailing EMA’s and below the current price and vice versa. EMA alerts include crossovers (i.e the 5 day EMA crosses above/below the 20 day EMA) and EMA convergencies (5 day EMA equivalent to 13 day EMA). Currently, the 5 day EMA 35.17 is higher than the last trade price suggesting a short term bearish pattern building up. Long term, the 50 day EMA 33.48 is lower than current trading price depicting a bullish signal.
Let’s take a look at the technical analysis.
The Barchart Technical Opinion rating is a 100% Buy and ranks in the Top 1% of all short term signal directions. Longer term, the trend strength is in the Top 1%. Long term indicators fully support a continuation of the trend.
The relative strength index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that is able to measure the velocity and magnitude of stock price changes. Momentum is calculated as the ratio of positive price changes to negative price changes. The RSI analysis compares the current RSI against neutral(50), oversold (30) and overbought (70) conditions. Alerts will inform you when stocks recede from oversold/overbought levels or breakthrough neutral (50). The current RSI is 54.72 suggesting a bullish price action.
As such, while we believe ASB Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASBB) represents a compelling growth story exposed to several secularly attractive markets, it would be interesting to see how it fairs for long-term investors.
ASB Bancorp, Inc. is engaged in providing personal and business banking services. It offers family residential mortgage loans, commercial real estate loans, home equity loans and lines of credit, consumer loans, construction and land development loans and industrial loans. The bank also provides online banking, cash management, and retirement planning services. ASB operates in many areas including Asheville, North Carolina along with Buncombe County, Henderson, Madison, McDowell and Transylvania Counties. ASB Bancorp, Inc. is based in Asheville, North Carolina.
