Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. The company had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Alerus Financial stock opened at $32.95 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. Alerus Financial has a 1 year low of $20.26 and a 1 year high of $33.44. The company has a market capitalization of $828.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is presently 85.44%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ALRS. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Alerus Financial from $28.50 to $32.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 13,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $304,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 189.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 12,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $279,000 after purchasing an additional 8,261 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $252,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.