Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The company traded as high as $32.68 and last traded at $32.6650, with a volume of 61790 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $32.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ALRS shares. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.98 and a 200-day moving average of $26.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $820.87 million, a P/E ratio of 31.71 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%.The firm had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 EPS for the current 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 is a positive change from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Alerus Financial by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,072 shares during the period. 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.