Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Alerus Financial has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating from seven analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $30.50. Ratings include four holds, two buys and one strong buy.
• The stock recently traded at $33.30, near its 52-week high, after rising 1.1%. Alerus exceeded quarterly expectations with $0.80 in EPS versus $0.78 expected and revenue of $80 million versus a $76.99 million estimate.
• Alerus increased its quarterly dividend to $0.22, or $0.88 annually, representing a 2.6% yield. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s shares.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $30.50.

Several analysts have commented on ALRS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alerus Financial from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 30th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Alerus Financial from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 1.1%

NASDAQ:ALRS traded up $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $33.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 142,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,593. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $20.26 and a 1-year high of $33.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $836.93 million, a PE ratio of 32.32 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.84.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%.The company had revenue of $80.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.99 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Alerus Financial's previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio is 85.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 172.7% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. 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.

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