Reviewing Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and Roma Green Finance (NASDAQ:ROMA)

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) and Roma Green Finance (NASDAQ:ROMA) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations and price targets for Alerus Financial and Roma Green Finance, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Alerus Financial	0	4	1	0	2.20
Roma Green Finance	1	0	0	0	1.00

Alerus Financial currently has a consensus target price of $25.63, suggesting a potential upside of 18.96%. Given Alerus Financial’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Alerus Financial is more favorable than Roma Green Finance.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

51.3% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of Alerus Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Alerus Financial and Roma Green Finance’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Alerus Financial	11.06%	10.21%	0.98%
Roma Green Finance	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility & Risk

Alerus Financial has a beta of 0.7, indicating that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Roma Green Finance has a beta of 2.15, indicating that its stock price is 115% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Alerus Financial and Roma Green Finance”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Alerus Financial	$336.51 million	1.63	$17.78 million	$1.69	12.75
Roma Green Finance	$1.56 million	19.72	-$3.56 million	N/A	N/A

Alerus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Roma Green Finance.

Summary

Alerus Financial beats Roma Green Finance on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

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. It offers various deposit products, including demand deposits, interest-bearing transaction accounts, money market accounts, time and savings deposits, checking accounts, and certificates of deposit; and treasury management products, including electronic receivables management, remote deposit capture, cash vault services, merchant services, and other cash management services. The company also provides commercial loans, business term loans, lines of credit, and commercial real estate loans, as well as construction and land development loans; consumer lending products, including residential first mortgage loans; installment loans and lines of credit; and second mortgage loans. In addition, it offers retirement plan administration and investment advisory services, employee stock ownership plan, fiduciary services, payroll, health savings accounts, and other benefit services, as well as individual retirement accounts; and financial planning, investment management, personal and corporate trust, estate administration, and custody services. Further, the company provides debit and credit cards, online banking, mobile banking/wallet, payment, private banking, payroll accounts, flex spending accounts, administration, and government health insurance program services. It offers banking services in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Arizona; and retirement and benefit plans through offices located in Michigan, Minnesota, and Colorado. The company was formerly known as First National Bank North Dakota and changed its name to Alerus Financial Corporation in 2000. Alerus Financial Corporation was founded in 1879 and is headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

About Roma Green Finance

Roma Green Finance Limited, through its subsidiaries, provides environmental, social, and governance (ESG); sustainability; and climate change related advisory services in Hong Kong and Singapore. It also offers sustainability program development, ESG reporting, corporate governance and risk management, climate change strategies and solutions, environmental audit, ESG rating support and shareholder communication, and education and training services. The company was founded in 2018 and is based in Wan Chai, Hong Kong. Roma Green Finance Limited operates as a subsidiary of Top Elect Group Limited.