Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Alerus Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 24 consecutive years. Alerus Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 34.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Alerus Financial to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Alerus Financial stock opened at $18.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Alerus Financial has a 1 year low of $17.99 and a 1 year high of $24.41. The stock has a market cap of $470.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20 and a beta of 0.74.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 7.66%. On average, research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on ALRS shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alerus Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.40.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Alerus Financial, National Association that engages in the provision of various financial services to businesses and consumers. The company operates in four segments: Banking, Mortgage, Retirement and Benefit Services, and Wealth Management.