Johnson Wealth Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Alerus Financial $ALRS

Johnson Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 23,006 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,000. Alerus Financial accounts for approximately 0.3% of Johnson Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 886,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,027,000 after buying an additional 56,763 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the first quarter worth $1,951,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 60.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 92,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 34,754 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the first quarter worth $711,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial during the fourth quarter valued at $1,512,000. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS stock opened at $33.67 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.66. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $20.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $838.38 million, a PE ratio of 31.76 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.