Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ALRS. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial began coverage on Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $34.75.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ALRS opened at $33.27 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $20.26 and a 52-week high of $34.15. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.97. The company has a market capitalization of $836.08 million, a PE ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 14.53%. The firm had revenue of $80.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million. Equities research analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in 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. increased its position in Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,530,000 after buying an additional 168,987 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth $1,951,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,712,000 after acquiring an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at $1,742,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.