Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Short Interest Update

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 186,500 shares, a decline of 26.5% from the November 15th total of 253,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 84,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALRS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alerus Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.20.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth about $5,966,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 191.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 46,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $919,000 after acquiring an additional 30,750 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the second quarter valued at $265,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $530,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $417,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:ALRS traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 37,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,630. The stock has a market capitalization of $552.62 million, a P/E ratio of 137.00 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $22.40 and a 200-day moving average of $21.29. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $18.09 and a 52-week high of $25.85.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.18). Alerus Financial had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 6.02%. The company had revenue of $80.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.30 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 500.00%.

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.