Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Short Interest Up 32.6% in January

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 98,500 shares, a growth of 32.6% from the January 15th total of 74,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 22,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 1.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Ames National

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATLO. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ames National during the 4th quarter worth $1,875,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in Ames National by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 66,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,089,000 after buying an additional 18,556 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Ames National by 120.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 31,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after buying an additional 17,269 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Ames National by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 243,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,999,000 after buying an additional 10,182 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ames National by 299.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after buying an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

Ames National Stock Performance

ATLO traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $18.39. The stock had a trading volume of 18,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,223. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.33 million, a P/E ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.72. Ames National has a 52 week low of $15.69 and a 52 week high of $22.03.

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ames National had a return on equity of 5.94% and a net margin of 11.05%.

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.