Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) Short Interest Up 9.0% in December

Ames National Co. (NASDAQ:ATLO) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 49,700 shares, a growth of 9.0% from the November 30th total of 45,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Ames National Stock Performance

Shares of ATLO stock opened at $16.43 on Thursday. Ames National has a 1 year low of $15.69 and a 1 year high of $22.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $17.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $18.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.74 million, a PE ratio of 16.60 and a beta of 0.56.

Ames National Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.87%. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ames National by 114.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 7,650 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ames National by 299.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,418 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $208,000 after acquiring an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ames National by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 204,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,731,000 after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in Ames National by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 123,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,252,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC acquired a new position in Ames National during the 2nd quarter worth $807,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

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.