Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $24.50 and last traded at $24.50, with a volume of 109177 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $23.40.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Alerus Financial from $25.50 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.00.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.70 and a 200 day moving average of $22.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $600.96 million, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.66.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.07. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 13.45% and a return on equity of 11.63%. The firm had revenue of $72.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.41 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Investors of record on Friday, December 26th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. Thompson Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter worth $32,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $52,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 172.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

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.