Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $29.85 and last traded at $29.68, with a volume of 156645 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $29.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ALRS shares. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.38.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $745.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.70.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $75.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a positive change from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.55%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 265.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after buying an additional 171,984 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after buying an additional 168,987 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,951,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,712,000 after buying an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,742,000. 51.25% of the stock is currently 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.