Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the five research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $23.40.

ALRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

ALRS stock opened at $21.22 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $20.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $537.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.71. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $17.99 and a 12-month high of $24.41.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 6.26%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is 78.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 120.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 666,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,824,000 after buying an additional 363,617 shares during the period. Rhino Investment Partners Inc purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,849,000. FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,557,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 2,346.3% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 287,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,540,000 after purchasing an additional 276,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $5,966,000. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

About Alerus Financial

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.