Analysts Set Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Target Price at $28.38

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $28.3750.

ALRS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 30th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 research report on Monday, May 4th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,951,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 60.4% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 92,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 34,754 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the first quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 6.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 886,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,027,000 after acquiring an additional 56,763 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS stock opened at $30.02 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $754.40 million, a P/E ratio of 29.15 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.93. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $20.26 and a one year high of $30.49.

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

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 26th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 26th. This is a boost from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.55%.

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.