Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.28 EPS

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28, FiscalAI reports. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 11.63% and a net margin of 13.45%.The business had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Alerus Financial stock traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.80. 190,359 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 147,168. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $22.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.19. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $25.00. The company has a market capitalization of $604.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 0.66.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.38%.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 265.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 171,984 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,742,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 140.8% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 110,168 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 64,425 shares in the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 354.1% in the 3rd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 79,823 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,767,000 after acquiring an additional 62,246 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 302.2% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 72,425 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,567,000 after acquiring an additional 54,418 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Hovde Group lowered Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.00.

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.