Alerus Financial $ALRS Shares Purchased by Phocas Financial Corp.

Key Points

• Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its stake in Alerus by 102.2% in Q4 to 334,357 shares (about 1.32%), adding 168,987 shares worth $7.53 million, while institutional investors own roughly 51.25% of the stock.
• Alerus beat Q4 estimates, reporting $0.85 EPS vs. $0.57 expected and $77.07M in revenue vs. $71.43M, and analysts project 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.21 (annualized $0.84, yield 3.3%) despite a 127.27% payout ratio; the stock has a $644M market cap, P/E of 38.18 and a consensus "Hold" price target of $26.00.

Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its stake in Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Free Report) by 102.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,357 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 168,987 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 1.32% of Alerus Financial worth $7,530,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,101,000 after purchasing an additional 16,779 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 796,693 shares of the company's stock valued at $17,639,000 after purchasing an additional 39,652 shares in the last quarter. M3F Inc. increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 21.1% in the 3rd quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 262,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,810,000 after purchasing an additional 45,695 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 265.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 171,984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 113,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 0.7%

NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $25.20 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $644.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.18 and a beta of 0.59. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $16.29 and a one year high of $26.32. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 127.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALRS. DA Davidson raised their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 target price on Alerus Financial and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Alerus Financial from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Hovde Group downgraded Alerus Financial from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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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