Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Increases Dividend to $0.21 Per Share

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 27th will be paid a dividend of 0.21 per share on Friday, July 11th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a 5.0% increase from Alerus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20.

Alerus Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 24 years. Alerus Financial has a payout ratio of 33.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Alerus Financial to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALRS opened at $20.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $531.93 million, a P/E ratio of 20.56 and a beta of 0.70. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $18.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.06. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $24.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth about $1,195,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the first quarter valued at $441,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company's stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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