Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Short Interest Update

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,000 shares, a growth of 24.8% from the August 15th total of 73,700 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ames National

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Ames National by 75.7% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Ames National by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,737 shares in the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ames National in the second quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ames National by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 489,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. 26.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ames National Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ATLO traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 13,873. Ames National has a 1-year low of $15.01 and a 1-year high of $22.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.69. The stock has a market cap of $166.32 million, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.56.

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.49 million during the quarter. Ames National had a return on equity of 5.92% and a net margin of 10.77%.

Ames National Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.07%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Ames National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th.

Ames National Company Profile

Ames National Corporation operates as a multi-bank holding company that provides banking products and services primarily in Boone, Clarke, Hancock, Marshall, Polk, Story, and Union counties in central, north central, and south-central Iowa. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking and savings accounts; and time deposits, such as money market accounts and certificates of deposit.