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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,832 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $9,886,000 after acquiring an additional 2,965 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ames National by 4.9% during 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. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Ames National in the second quarter worth $807,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Ames National Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ATLO traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $18.25. 1,931 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 14,101. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.56. Ames National has a fifty-two week low of $15.01 and a fifty-two week high of $22.50.

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

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 issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.07%.

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.