Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.40 and last traded at $34.12, with a volume of 192967 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.12.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALRS shares. DA Davidson set a $36.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen cut Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $35.50.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market cap of $836.39 million, a PE ratio of 31.69 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.07 and a 200-day moving average of $27.25.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.99 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.41% and a net margin of 6.87%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 26th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 83.02%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial in the first quarter valued at $441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 29.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 3.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.