Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.3750.

Several research analysts have recently commented on ALRS shares. Weiss Ratings raised Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 0.7%

ALRS opened at $29.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $736.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.45 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $20.26 and a 12 month high of $29.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.64.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $75.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a positive change from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 265.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,123,000 after buying an additional 171,984 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after purchasing an additional 168,987 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,951,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,712,000 after purchasing an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,742,000. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alerus Financial

Alerus Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ALRS) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The firm provides a full range of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, lending solutions and treasury management services for individuals, small businesses and larger corporate clients. Through its community banking network, Alerus emphasizes local decision-making and personalized service to meet the needs of its varied client base.

In addition to traditional banking offerings, Alerus operates a national mortgage origination and servicing platform that delivers home purchase and refinance loans.