American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Position in Alerus Financial $ALRS

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Alerus Financial by 13.1%, holding 127,871 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Alerus Financial reported earnings of $0.72 per share, exceeding the estimated $0.56, alongside a quarterly revenue of $74.80 million which surpassed analyst expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.21, providing a 3.8% yield, with a payout ratio currently at 49.70% and the payment scheduled for October 10th.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its position in shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Free Report) by 13.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,871 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,275 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.50% of Alerus Financial worth $2,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 48,001 shares of the company's stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 3,602 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 120.0% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 666,559 shares of the company's stock worth $12,824,000 after purchasing an additional 363,617 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 13,275 shares of the company's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,620 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 67,188 shares of the company's stock worth $1,293,000 after purchasing an additional 17,360 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $27.00 target price (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One investment 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, Alerus Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.63.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS stock traded up $0.36 on Thursday, hitting $22.79. The company had a trading volume of 20,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,864. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $15.78 and a 12-month high of $24.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $21.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.47. The stock has a market cap of $578.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

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

Alerus Financial 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.