Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on ALRS. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.75.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 0.9%

ALRS opened at $33.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $836.08 million, a PE ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.68. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $20.26 and a 1-year high of $34.15. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.95.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The company had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the 4th 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. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 172.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.