M3F Inc. Takes Position in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

M3F Inc. bought a new stake in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 179,563 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,455,000. Alerus Financial accounts for about 1.0% of M3F Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. M3F Inc. owned approximately 0.71% of Alerus Financial at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 207.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 16,336 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in Alerus Financial by 2,346.3% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 287,931 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,540,000 after purchasing an additional 276,161 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Alerus Financial by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,399 shares of the company's stock worth $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 16,436 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,620,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 80,184 shares of the company's stock worth $1,543,000 after buying an additional 33,247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALRS. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.40.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

ALRS stock traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $17.67. 19,276 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 73,096. Alerus Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $15.78 and a twelve month high of $24.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $18.42 and a 200-day moving average of $20.32. The firm has a market cap of $450.75 million, a PE ratio of 17.31 and a beta of 0.67.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 7.66%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. Alerus Financial's payout ratio is 78.43%.

Alerus Financial Company 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.