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

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

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALRS shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. DA Davidson upped their price target on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALRS opened at $23.88 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Alerus Financial has a 52 week low of $15.78 and a 52 week high of $26.32. The firm has a market cap of $606.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 0.63.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.18%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.27%.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 110.9% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 97,749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,115,000 after purchasing an additional 51,405 shares in the last quarter. CSM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth $4,123,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth $2,341,000. Gabelli Funds LLC bought a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,982,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 349.2% in the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 28,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 22,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.