Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO) Short Interest Up 15.2% in February

Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO) saw a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 250,899 shares, an increase of 15.2% from the February 12th total of 217,831 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 34,811 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 34,811 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ames National

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATLO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Ames National by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 10,639 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ames National by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 16,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 642 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ames National by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 30,142 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $692,000 after buying an additional 6,094 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Ames National by 210.2% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Ames National in the fourth quarter valued at about $907,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ames National in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy”.

Ames National Stock Performance

Shares of ATLO opened at $26.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.01. The company has a market cap of $237.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.39. Ames National has a 52-week low of $16.09 and a 52-week high of $28.35.

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Ames National had a return on equity of 9.70% and a net margin of 19.36%.The firm had revenue of $15.34 million for the quarter.

Ames National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This is an increase from Ames National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. Ames National’s payout ratio is currently 44.86%.

Ames National Company Profile

Ames National Corporation is the bank holding company for Ames National Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Ames, Iowa. Through its subsidiary, the company provides a range of commercial and consumer banking products designed to meet the needs of individuals, small businesses, farmers and agribusiness clients in central Iowa. Its network of branch offices serves Story County and neighboring counties, supporting local economic development and community initiatives.

The company’s core offerings include checking and savings accounts, money market and certificate of deposit products, along with online and mobile banking services.