Empowered Funds LLC Makes New Investment in Alerus Financial $ALRS

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 82,279 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,951,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.33% of Alerus Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 732 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 172.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALRS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Alerus Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on Alerus Financial in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday. Zacks Research raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $33.59 on Friday. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $20.31 and a 12-month high of $34.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $836.39 million, a PE ratio of 31.69 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.25.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 6.87%.The company had revenue of $80.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million. Research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is a boost from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 83.02%.

Alerus Financial 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.