Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Issues Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%.The business had revenue of $80.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS stock traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.95. The company had a trading volume of 255,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,448. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $20.26 and a 12 month high of $33.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $30.34 and its 200 day moving average is $26.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $828.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.44%.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the first quarter worth $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at $441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ALRS. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $30.50.

About Alerus Financial

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.