Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.50.

ALRS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Alerus Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on Alerus Financial in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th.

Insider Transactions at Alerus Financial

In other news, Director Jeffrey Bolton bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.45 per share, with a total value of $32,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,039.35. This trade represents a 7.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,869,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,084,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter worth $56,672,000. Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth $2,063,000. Finally, Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth $1,873,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Alerus Financial stock opened at $32.78 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $817.14 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92 and a beta of 0.67. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $20.31 and a 12-month high of $34.40.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 6.87%.The firm had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.99 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Friday, September 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.02%.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation is a financial services company and bank holding company headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Its principal subsidiary, Alerus Financial, National Association, provides banking, wealth management, retirement and employee-benefit services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

The company offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, personal and business lending, mortgage banking, treasury management and related banking services. Through its wealth management and retirement businesses, Alerus provides investment management, trust and fiduciary services, retirement-plan administration, financial planning and benefit-account solutions, including health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts.

Alerus traces its history to 1933 and serves customers through offices and business operations in parts of Minnesota, North Dakota and Arizona, as well as through digital channels.