Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Announces Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.31 EPS

Key Points

• Alerus reported a strong quarterly beat: EPS of $0.89 topped estimates by $0.31 and revenue of $75.78 million exceeded forecasts, with a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%.
• Dividend and payout risk: The company pays a $0.21 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.84, yield 3.3%), but its dividend payout ratio is a high 127.27%, indicating the payout may exceed earnings.
• Market reaction and analyst view: Shares slid about 1.1% to $25.75 post-release, valuing the company at ~$658 million with a P/E of 39.0, while analysts hold an average rating of "Hold" and a $26.00 price target.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) announced its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.31, FiscalAI reports. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.83 million.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 1.1%

ALRS stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $25.75. The company had a trading volume of 147,515 shares, compared to its average volume of 140,171. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.36. The company has a market capitalization of $658.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.02 and a beta of 0.59. Alerus Financial has a 52 week low of $19.45 and a 52 week high of $26.32.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders 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 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,253 shares of the company's stock worth $28,101,000 after acquiring an additional 16,779 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 830,052 shares of the company's stock worth $18,692,000 after acquiring an additional 33,359 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 603,392 shares of the company's stock worth $13,591,000 after acquiring an additional 23,403 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 476,030 shares of the company's stock worth $10,819,000 after acquiring an additional 4,284 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 worth $6,712,000 after acquiring an additional 80,599 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALRS. Hovde Group downgraded Alerus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. DA Davidson raised their price target on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research downgraded Alerus Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Alerus Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

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.

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