Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) saw a large drop in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 80,700 shares, a drop of 12.3% from the August 31st total of 92,000 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 17,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ames National

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

Ames National Price Performance

NASDAQ ATLO traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 14,101. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.69. Ames National has a 52 week low of $15.01 and a 52 week high of $22.50. The stock has a market cap of $164.07 million, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.56.

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

Ames National Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Ames National’s payout ratio is 72.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.