Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives $29.25 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $30.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALRS. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial assumed coverage on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Alerus Financial by 265.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after acquiring an additional 171,984 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after purchasing an additional 168,987 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,951,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,712,000 after buying an additional 80,599 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth $1,742,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of Alerus Financial stock traded up $0.45 on Friday, hitting $31.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 172,277 shares, compared to its average volume of 280,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Alerus Financial has a 1 year low of $20.26 and a 1 year high of $31.85. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $29.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.93. The company has a market capitalization of $787.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.31. The company had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This is an increase from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.44%.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ALRS) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The firm provides a full range of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, lending solutions and treasury management services for individuals, small businesses and larger corporate clients. Through its community banking network, Alerus emphasizes local decision-making and personalized service to meet the needs of its varied client base.

In addition to traditional banking offerings, Alerus operates a national mortgage origination and servicing platform that delivers home purchase and refinance loans.