Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) Share Price Passes Above 50 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Ames National Corporation (NASDAQ:ATLO)’s stock price passed above its 50-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.28 and traded as high as $32.31. Ames National shares last traded at $32.02, with a volume of 22,706 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Ames National in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Ames National Trading Down 3.0%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $31.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $275.46 million, a PE ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.31.

Ames National (NASDAQ:ATLO) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter. Ames National had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 22.64%.The company had revenue of $19.08 million for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ames National Corporation will post 2.72 EPS for the current year.

Ames National Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. Ames National’s payout ratio is presently 37.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ames National

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ames National during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $20,228,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ames National by 2.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 273,040 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,705,000 after purchasing an additional 7,120 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Ames National by 1.6% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 100,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Ames National Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ames National in the second quarter worth $1,332,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ames National in the second quarter worth $1,275,000. 26.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ames National Company Profile

Ames National Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Ames, Iowa. Through its community banking subsidiaries, the company provides financial services to individuals, families, farmers and businesses across Iowa.

The company’s banking activities include accepting deposits and providing commercial, agricultural, residential real estate and consumer loans. Its subsidiaries also offer services such as checking and savings accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, wealth management and other traditional community banking products.

Ames National Corporation traces its history to the establishment of Ames National Bank in 1903.