Riverwater Partners LLC Reduces Position in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

Riverwater Partners LLC trimmed its position in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) by 27.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,005 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in Alerus Financial were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,451 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter worth about $204,000. Corebridge Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 11,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,000. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $16.60 on Friday. 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 simple moving average of $19.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.91. Alerus Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $16.15 and a 12-month high of $24.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $423.48 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.27 and a beta of 0.67.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 7.66%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.82%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is 78.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALRS. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.40.

Alerus Financial Profile

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.