Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts' consensus is a "Hold" — seven brokerages cover Alerus (six hold, one strong buy) with a 12‑month average target price of $26.00.
• Alerus beat recent quarterly estimates (EPS $0.85 vs. $0.57; revenue $77.07M vs. $71.43M) and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21, implying a 3.3% dividend yield but a high payout ratio of 127.27%.
• Shares trade near $25.54 with a market cap of $652.8M and a P/E of 38.7, and institutional investors own about 51.25% of the company.

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group cut Alerus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research cut shares of Alerus Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 25.7% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at $59,000. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company's stock.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 0.3%

ALRS opened at $25.54 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $24.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.19. The firm has a market cap of $652.80 million, a PE ratio of 38.70 and a beta of 0.59. Alerus Financial has a twelve month low of $16.61 and a twelve month high of $26.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.18%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 127.27%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.