Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Invests $201,000 in Alerus Financial $ALRS

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,194,264 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,046,000 after buying an additional 139,435 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter worth $6,040,000. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 112.1% during the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 285,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,333,000 after purchasing an additional 151,045 shares during the last quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 34.3% in the first quarter. Keeley Teton Advisors LLC now owns 227,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,199,000 after purchasing an additional 58,036 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M3F Inc. grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.4% in the first quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 187,447 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,460,000 after purchasing an additional 7,884 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ALRS opened at $20.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $528.57 million, a PE ratio of 12.31 and a beta of 0.70. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.01. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $24.41.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The company reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 10.21% and a net margin of 11.06%.The business had revenue of $74.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.96 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ALRS. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective (up previously from $24.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.63.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

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.