Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Short Interest Down 30.5% in August

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 73,700 shares, a decrease of 30.5% from the July 31st total of 106,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 15,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC raised its position in Ames National by 2,044.0% during the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,533 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Ames National by 4.9% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 37,235 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in Ames National by 75.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ames National by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 489,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,886,000 after buying an additional 2,965 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Ames National during the second quarter valued at $807,000. 26.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Ames National from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th.

Ames National Stock Up 1.6 %

ATLO stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $18.98. 16,986 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,893. Ames National has a 1-year low of $15.01 and a 1-year high of $22.50. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.69. The firm has a market cap of $170.63 million, a PE ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.57.

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 9th. The financial services provider reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $13.49 million during the quarter. Ames National had a return on equity of 6.27% and a net margin of 11.49%.

Ames National Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 1st. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio is 72.07%.

About Ames National

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.