Alerus Financial (ALRS) Competitors

Nicolet Bankshares (NYSE:NIC) and Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their media sentiment, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, earnings, community ranking and dividends.

Does the media prefer NIC or ALRS?

In the previous week, Alerus Financial had 16 more articles in the media than Nicolet Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Alerus Financial and 7 mentions for Nicolet Bankshares. Nicolet Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 1.49 beat Alerus Financial's score of 0.99 indicating that Nicolet Bankshares is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Nicolet Bankshares	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Alerus Financial	8 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, NIC or ALRS?

Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.69, suggesting that its stock price is 31% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders have more ownership in NIC or ALRS?

43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, NIC or ALRS?

Nicolet Bankshares has higher revenue and earnings than Alerus Financial. Nicolet Bankshares is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Alerus Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Nicolet Bankshares	$356.32M	5.17	$124.06M	$8.29	14.61
Alerus Financial	$215.87M	2.44	$21.07M	$1.02	20.24

Do analysts prefer NIC or ALRS?

Nicolet Bankshares currently has a consensus price target of $119.25, suggesting a potential downside of 1.54%. Alerus Financial has a consensus price target of $23.00, suggesting a potential upside of 11.43%. Given Alerus Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Nicolet Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Nicolet Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Alerus Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Does the MarketBeat Community prefer NIC or ALRS?

Alerus Financial received 8 more outperform votes than Nicolet Bankshares when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 22.92% of users gave Alerus Financial an outperform vote while only 10.71% of users gave Nicolet Bankshares an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Nicolet Bankshares	Outperform Votes 3 10.71%	Underperform Votes 25 89.29%
Alerus Financial	Outperform Votes 11 22.92%	Underperform Votes 37 77.08%

Is NIC or ALRS more profitable?

Nicolet Bankshares has a net margin of 23.83% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.26%. Nicolet Bankshares' return on equity of 10.95% beat Alerus Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Nicolet Bankshares	23.83%	10.95%	1.41%
Alerus Financial	6.26%	7.66%	0.68%

Is NIC or ALRS a better dividend stock?

Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 13.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial pays out 78.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Alerus Financial has raised its dividend for 24 consecutive years. Alerus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Nicolet Bankshares beats Alerus Financial on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.