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

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com 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 price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $28.3750.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ALRS shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 3rd. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS opened at $26.55 on Friday. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $20.26 and a fifty-two week high of $27.60. The company has a market capitalization of $667.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.78 and a beta of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

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

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.55%.

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.