DA Davidson Issues Positive Forecast for Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Stock Price

Key Points

• DA Davidson raised its price target on Alerus from $26 to $29 while keeping a "neutral" rating, implying roughly a 7.6% upside from the current price.
• Alerus beat Q1 estimates with EPS of $0.89 (vs. $0.58 expected) and revenue of $75.78M (vs. $73.78M), reporting a 6.74% net margin and 14.56% return on equity.
• The consensus analyst view is a "Hold" with an average target of $28.38, and institutional ownership stands at 51.25% after notable stake increases by AQR, Phocas and Goldman Sachs.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by analysts at DA Davidson from $26.00 to $29.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "neutral" rating on the stock. DA Davidson's price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.61% from the company's current price.

ALRS has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Zacks Research cut Alerus Financial from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group lowered Alerus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings cut Alerus Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.38.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS traded up $0.01 on Friday, reaching $26.95. The stock had a trading volume of 205,129 shares, compared to its average volume of 143,071. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $20.08 and a 12-month high of $27.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The business's 50-day moving average price is $24.52 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.41. The company has a market cap of $688.84 million, a P/E ratio of 26.17 and a beta of 0.59.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.78 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 265.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 171,984 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its position in Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,530,000 after acquiring an additional 168,987 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,712,000 after buying an additional 80,599 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at about $1,742,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,512,000. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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