Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of brokerages have commented on ALRS. Zacks Research cut shares of Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group cut Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS opened at $25.54 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $24.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.19. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $16.61 and a 52-week high of $26.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $652.80 million, a PE ratio of 38.70 and a beta of 0.59.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 127.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALRS. 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 period. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,530,000 after acquiring an additional 168,987 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,712,000 after purchasing an additional 80,599 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $1,742,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,512,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.