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

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALRS. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Hovde Group cut shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Alerus Financial stock opened at $25.01 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.42. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $15.78 and a 12 month high of $26.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $635.18 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.89 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.38%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is 127.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Alerus Financial by 1.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 33,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

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.