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Alerus Financial (ALRS) Competitors

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$32.75 -0.03 (-0.09%)
Closing price 09/18/2026 04:00 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$32.74 -0.02 (-0.05%)
As of 09/18/2026 05:29 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

ALRS vs. BUSE, CATY, FRME, MCBS, and NWBI

Should you buy Alerus Financial stock or one of its competitors? Alerus Financial's main competitors and comparable companies include First Busey (BUSE), Cathay General Bancorp (CATY), First Merchants (FRME), MetroCity Bankshares (MCBS), and Northwest Bancshares (NWBI). Companies are selected based on similarities in market, industry, and size. These companies are all part of the "regional banks" industry.

How does Alerus Financial compare to First Busey?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends and profitability.

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.71, meaning that its stock price is 29% less volatile than the broader market.

First Busey has a net margin of 21.00% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.87%. Alerus Financial's return on equity of 14.41% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Alerus Financial6.87% 14.41% 1.55%
First Busey 21.00%10.48%1.40%

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

In the previous week, First Busey had 3 more articles in the media than Alerus Financial. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Alerus Financial. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat First Busey's score of 0.50 indicating that Alerus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Alerus Financial
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
First Busey
2 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
1 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

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

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial$399.92M2.04$17.44M$1.0630.90
First Busey$1.04B2.40$135.26M$2.4212.53

Alerus Financial presently has a consensus price target of $35.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.40%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 5.54%. Given Alerus Financial's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than First Busey.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Alerus Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.14
First Busey
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
4 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.57

Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Alerus Financial pays out 83.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Busey pays out 43.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial has increased its dividend for 25 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

First Busey beats Alerus Financial on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Alerus Financial compare to Cathay General Bancorp?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and Cathay General Bancorp (NASDAQ:CATY) are both finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, earnings, media sentiment, valuation and institutional ownership.

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its share price is 33% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Cathay General Bancorp has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the broader market.

Cathay General Bancorp has a net margin of 24.66% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.87%. Alerus Financial's return on equity of 14.41% beat Cathay General Bancorp's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Alerus Financial6.87% 14.41% 1.55%
Cathay General Bancorp 24.66%11.71%1.43%

Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Cathay General Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.4%. Alerus Financial pays out 83.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Cathay General Bancorp pays out 29.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial has increased its dividend for 25 consecutive years. Alerus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

In the previous week, Cathay General Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Alerus Financial. MarketBeat recorded 2 mentions for Cathay General Bancorp and 1 mentions for Alerus Financial. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Cathay General Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that Alerus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
Alerus Financial
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive
Cathay General Bancorp
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
1 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral

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

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial$399.92M2.04$17.44M$1.0630.90
Cathay General Bancorp$1.38B3.00$315.12M$5.1212.16

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Cathay General Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Alerus Financial currently has a consensus price target of $35.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.40%. Cathay General Bancorp has a consensus price target of $62.25, suggesting a potential upside of 0.00%. Given Alerus Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Cathay General Bancorp.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Alerus Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.14
Cathay General Bancorp
1 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.00

Summary

Cathay General Bancorp beats Alerus Financial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Alerus Financial compare to First Merchants?

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) and Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, valuation, earnings, media sentiment, institutional ownership and profitability.

First Merchants has a net margin of 17.05% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.87%. Alerus Financial's return on equity of 14.41% beat First Merchants' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
First Merchants17.05% 8.86% 1.12%
Alerus Financial 6.87%14.41%1.55%

First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.6%. Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. First Merchants pays out 47.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial pays out 83.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Merchants has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years and Alerus Financial has increased its dividend for 25 consecutive years. First Merchants is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

In the previous week, First Merchants had 2 more articles in the media than Alerus Financial. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for First Merchants and 1 mentions for Alerus Financial. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat First Merchants' score of 0.34 indicating that Alerus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment
First Merchants
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
2 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Neutral
Alerus Financial
1 Very Positive mention(s)
0 Positive mention(s)
0 Neutral mention(s)
0 Negative mention(s)
0 Very Negative mention(s)
Positive

73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 1.8% of First Merchants shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

First Merchants currently has a consensus price target of $49.00, indicating a potential upside of 19.89%. Alerus Financial has a consensus price target of $35.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.40%. Given First Merchants' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Merchants is more favorable than Alerus Financial.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
First Merchants
0 Sell rating(s)
3 Hold rating(s)
3 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Alerus Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.14

First Merchants has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, indicating that its share price is 33% less volatile than the broader market.

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

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
First Merchants$1.05B2.44$226M$3.1213.10
Alerus Financial$399.92M2.04$17.44M$1.0630.90

Summary

First Merchants beats Alerus Financial on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Alerus Financial compare to MetroCity Bankshares?

MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) and Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk and earnings.

MetroCity Bankshares has a beta of 0.68, suggesting that its share price is 32% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, suggesting that its share price is 33% less volatile than the broader market.

MetroCity Bankshares has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Alerus Financial. MetroCity 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.

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
MetroCity Bankshares$246.01M4.09$68.53M$2.8812.15
Alerus Financial$399.92M2.04$17.44M$1.0630.90

MetroCity Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. MetroCity Bankshares pays out 40.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Alerus Financial pays out 83.0% 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 25 consecutive years. MetroCity Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

In the previous week, Alerus Financial had 1 more articles in the media than MetroCity Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Alerus Financial and 0 mentions for MetroCity Bankshares. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat MetroCity Bankshares' score of 0.00 indicating that Alerus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company Overall Sentiment
MetroCity Bankshares Neutral
Alerus Financial Positive

MetroCity Bankshares has a net margin of 28.40% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.87%. MetroCity Bankshares' return on equity of 15.16% beat Alerus Financial's return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
MetroCity Bankshares28.40% 15.16% 1.82%
Alerus Financial 6.87%14.41%1.55%

MetroCity Bankshares currently has a consensus target price of $33.00, suggesting a potential downside of 5.66%. Alerus Financial has a consensus target price of $35.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.40%. Given Alerus Financial's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than MetroCity Bankshares.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
MetroCity Bankshares
0 Sell rating(s)
1 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.50
Alerus Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.14

25.3% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 20.2% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

MetroCity Bankshares beats Alerus Financial on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

How does Alerus Financial compare to Northwest Bancshares?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and Northwest Bancshares (NASDAQ:NWBI) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, risk, dividends and valuation.

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

CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial$399.92M2.04$17.44M$1.0630.90
Northwest Bancshares$878.94M2.58$126.01M$1.0315.01

In the previous week, Alerus Financial had 1 more articles in the media than Northwest Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 1 mentions for Alerus Financial and 0 mentions for Northwest Bancshares. Alerus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Northwest Bancshares' score of 0.00 indicating that Alerus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company Overall Sentiment
Alerus Financial Positive
Northwest Bancshares Neutral

Alerus Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Northwest Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.2%. Alerus Financial pays out 83.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Northwest Bancshares pays out 77.7% 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 25 consecutive years. Northwest Bancshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Northwest Bancshares has a net margin of 16.26% compared to Alerus Financial's net margin of 6.87%. Alerus Financial's return on equity of 14.41% beat Northwest Bancshares' return on equity.

Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets
Alerus Financial6.87% 14.41% 1.55%
Northwest Bancshares 16.26%10.25%1.15%

Alerus Financial presently has a consensus price target of $35.50, suggesting a potential upside of 8.40%. Northwest Bancshares has a consensus price target of $15.80, suggesting a potential upside of 2.20%. Given Alerus Financial's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Northwest Bancshares.

Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score
Alerus Financial
0 Sell rating(s)
6 Hold rating(s)
1 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.14
Northwest Bancshares
0 Sell rating(s)
4 Hold rating(s)
2 Buy rating(s)
0 Strong Buy rating(s)
2.33

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Northwest Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Northwest Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.67, meaning that its stock price is 33% less volatile than the broader market. Comparatively, Northwest Bancshares has a beta of 0.68, meaning that its stock price is 32% less volatile than the broader market.

Summary

Northwest Bancshares beats Alerus Financial on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.

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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time

This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding ALRS and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
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Media Sentiment Over Time

This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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ALRS vs. The Competition

MetricAlerus FinancialBanks IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ Exchange
Market Cap$816.39M$23.56B$13.82B$13.19B
Dividend Yield2.69%3.07%5.95%12.81%
P/E Ratio30.9027.0325.3125.40
Price / Sales2.049.32511.0789.45
Price / Cash9.3015.5143.4251.42
Price / Book1.471.372.736.33
Net Income$17.44M$2.58B$1.31B$358.33M
7 Day Performance-1.56%-0.71%-0.59%1.12%
1 Month Performance0.49%0.54%0.16%-2.39%
1 Year Performance41.59%22.23%7.82%5.35%

Alerus Financial Competitors List

CompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)
ALRS
Alerus Financial
2.939 of 5 stars
$32.75
-0.1%
$35.50
+8.4%
+41.6%$816.39M$399.92M30.90864
BUSE
First Busey
3.6804 of 5 stars
$30.42
-0.8%
$32.00
+5.2%
+22.6%$2.51B$1.04B12.571,948
CATY
Cathay General Bancorp
2.1399 of 5 stars
$61.86
-1.3%
$62.25
+0.6%
+26.4%$4.13B$870.57M12.081,268
FRME
First Merchants
4.4475 of 5 stars
$41.17
-2.1%
$49.00
+19.0%
+1.4%$2.59B$1.05B13.202,086
MCBS
MetroCity Bankshares
1.0994 of 5 stars
$35.38
-1.1%
$33.00
-6.7%
+20.6%$1.02B$246.01M12.28220

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This page (NASDAQ:ALRS) was last updated on 9/20/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff.
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