Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group lowered shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 31st. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS opened at $23.96 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $15.78 and a 12-month high of $26.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.05 and a 200-day moving average of $22.73. The stock has a market cap of $608.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.31 and a beta of 0.63.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.43 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 127.27%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in 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 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $59,000. 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.