Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALRS. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial raised Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Hovde Group lowered shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 1.4%

ALRS stock opened at $24.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $613.41 million, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.66. Alerus Financial has a 52 week low of $15.78 and a 52 week high of $24.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $22.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $72.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.41 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.63%. On average, research analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is currently 40.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in Alerus Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $441,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 41.1% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 73,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after purchasing an additional 21,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.