Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Key Points

• Alerus Financial (NASDAQ: ALRS) experienced a significant increase in short interest, rising by 48.7% from 234,300 to 348,400 shares as of August 31st.
• Alerus Financial's earnings report indicated $0.72 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.16 and showcasing strong revenue of $74.80 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.21 per share, with a yield of 3.7%, to be paid on October 10th.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 348,400 shares, an increase of 48.7% from the August 15th total of 234,300 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 76,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Based on an average trading volume of 76,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.5 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 13.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,194,264 shares of the company's stock worth $22,046,000 after purchasing an additional 139,435 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,336 shares of the company's stock worth $12,150,000 after purchasing an additional 23,112 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 367,173 shares of the company's stock worth $7,064,000 after purchasing an additional 1,958 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the first quarter worth $6,040,000. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.1% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 294,542 shares of the company's stock worth $6,391,000 after purchasing an additional 8,727 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.63.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALRS traded down $0.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $23.13. 290,301 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,807. The company has a market cap of $587.50 million, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.71. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $22.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.88. Alerus Financial has a twelve month low of $15.78 and a twelve month high of $24.41.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $74.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.96 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 10.21%. As a group, analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.70%.

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.