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

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $28.3750.

ALRS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALRS opened at $28.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $704.90 million, a P/E ratio of 27.23 and a beta of 0.67. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $20.26 and a one year high of $28.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew 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 valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.