FJ Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 288,813 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,557,000. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 1.14% of Alerus Financial as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 85.0% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 24,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 11,156 shares during the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $440,000. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 135,474 shares of the company's stock worth $2,607,000 after buying an additional 33,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 30,504 shares of the company's stock worth $587,000 after buying an additional 9,961 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 0.3%

ALRS traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.26. 39,857 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 75,309. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Alerus Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $15.78 and a 12-month high of $24.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $564.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $18.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.03.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $68.79 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $66.20 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 6.26%. Analysts predict that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALRS has been the topic of several research reports. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alerus Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.00.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Alerus Financial, National Association that engages in the provision of various financial services to businesses and consumers. The company operates in four segments: Banking, Mortgage, Retirement and Benefit Services, and Wealth Management.