Ritholtz Wealth Management Takes Position in Ames National Corporation $ATLO

Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 19,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $455,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management owned approximately 0.22% of Ames National as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ATLO. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ames National by 67.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 1,379 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ames National by 150.5% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 1,103 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Ames National by 148.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,175 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 1,299 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Ames National in the second quarter valued at about $187,000. Finally, Carl P. Sherr & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Ames National in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ATLO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ames National in a report on Monday, December 29th. Brean Capital raised Ames National to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $31.00 price target on Ames National in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ames National presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.00.

Ames National Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ATLO opened at $28.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.18 million, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.33. Ames National Corporation has a 1-year low of $16.52 and a 1-year high of $29.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $27.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.16.

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

Ames National Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from Ames National’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Ames National’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.86%.

About Ames National

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.