Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Alerus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.38.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 1.9%

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $27.10 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.47. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $20.26 and a one year high of $27.60. The firm has a market cap of $692.68 million, a PE ratio of 26.31 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%.The company had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.78 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.55%.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 4.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

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.