Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Alerus Financial a “Moderate Buy” consensus: Of seven firms, three rate the stock Buy, one Strong Buy, and three Hold; the average 12-month price target is $36.25.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: Alerus reported EPS of $0.71 versus the $0.66 consensus and revenue of $79.52 million, above estimates of $76.72 million.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, equivalent to an annualized $0.88 and a 2.6% yield. A director also recently bought 1,000 shares at $32.45 each.

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $36.25.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on ALRS shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Piper Sandler raised shares of Alerus Financial from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $37.00 to $38.00 in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Zacks Research raised Alerus Financial from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th.

Insider Transactions at Alerus Financial

In related news, Director Jeffrey Bolton purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.45 per share, for a total transaction of $32,450.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 15,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,039.35. This represents a 7.06% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Alerus Financial during the second quarter valued at approximately $56,672,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Alerus Financial by 6.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 886,815 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,027,000 after purchasing an additional 56,763 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $3,869,000. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $3,084,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Alerus Financial by 60.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 92,252 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 34,754 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ALRS opened at $33.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $842.88 million, a P/E ratio of 28.90 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $32.49 and a 200 day moving average of $29.04. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $20.76 and a one year high of $35.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $79.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.72 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 14.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 25th. Alerus Financial's payout ratio is 75.21%.

About Alerus Financial

Alerus Financial Corporation is a diversified financial services company and the holding company for Alerus Financial, N.A. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides consumer and commercial banking services, including checking and savings accounts, residential and commercial lending, treasury management, and digital banking solutions.

The company also offers wealth management, investment advisory, trust, retirement plan administration, and employee benefit services. These offerings are designed to serve individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and employers through an integrated banking and financial planning model.

Alerus traces its roots to 1933 and serves clients through offices and operations in portions of the Upper Midwest and other selected U.S.

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