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

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

ALRS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Alerus Financial from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.7% during 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 172.7% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $33.30. 142,074 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,593. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $20.26 and a fifty-two week high of $33.44. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.43 and its 200 day moving average is $26.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $836.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $80.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.99 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend 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 was Friday, June 26th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.44%.

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.