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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ames National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ames National in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,965 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

Ames National Stock Performance

Shares of ATLO stock 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $19.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.69. Ames National has a 1-year low of $15.01 and a 1-year high of $22.50. The company 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 firm had revenue of $13.49 million during the quarter. Ames National had a net margin of 10.77% and a return on equity of 5.92%.

Ames National Cuts Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded 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.