Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) was the target of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 58,700 shares, a drop of 7.3% from the September 30th total of 63,300 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 15,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Ames National by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 489,890 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,965 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted 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 worth $763,000 after buying an additional 1,737 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Ames National in the second quarter valued at approximately $807,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,832 shares during the last quarter. 26.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ames National Stock Performance

ATLO stock opened at $17.15 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.31. The company has a market capitalization of $154.18 million, a P/E ratio of 16.03 and a beta of 0.55. Ames National has a 52-week low of $15.69 and a 52-week high of $22.50.

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

Ames National Cuts Dividend

The company 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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.77%.

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.