Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $35.50.

ALRS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price objective on Alerus Financial in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in Alerus Financial by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after buying an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of Alerus Financial stock opened at $33.77 on Thursday. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $20.31 and a 1-year high of $34.40. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $848.61 million, a PE ratio of 31.86 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $76.99 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders 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%. This is a boost from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 83.02%.

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.