Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Short Interest Up 30.6% in August

Key Points

• Alerus Financial's short interest surged by 30.6% in August, rising from 179,400 shares at the end of July to 234,300 shares.
• Analysts upgraded their price targets for Alerus Financial, with estimates now ranging from $25.00 to $27.00, although the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold."
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, with a dividend yield of 3.7% and a payout ratio of approximately 49.70%.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 234,300 shares, anincreaseof30.6% from the July 31st total of 179,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 76,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days. Based on an average daily volume of 76,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ALRS. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $27.00 price target (up from $24.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.63.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of ALRS opened at $22.64 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $575.06 million, a PE ratio of 13.40 and a beta of 0.71. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $15.78 and a 12 month high of $24.41. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $22.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $74.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.96 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 11.06%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 59,755 shares of the company's stock worth $1,103,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 33,576 shares of the company's stock worth $734,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% in 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. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 457.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,277 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Alerus Financial

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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