Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $25.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALRS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Tuesday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.50 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 2.9%

NASDAQ ALRS traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $21.73. The stock had a trading volume of 93,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 69,398. The stock has a market capitalization of $551.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.76. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $15.78 and a one year high of $24.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $72.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.41 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.63%. Sell-side analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.3% in the third 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 during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 796,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,639,000 after buying an additional 39,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,150,000 after buying an additional 23,112 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $6,040,000. Finally, Choreo LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.1% in the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 294,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,391,000 after buying an additional 8,727 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alerus Financial

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.