Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $25.30 and last traded at $25.25, with a volume of 21618 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.62.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Hovde Group cut Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,269,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,101,000 after purchasing an additional 16,779 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 5.2% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 796,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,639,000 after buying an additional 39,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Alerus Financial by 4.3% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 561,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,150,000 after buying an additional 23,112 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its position in Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after buying an additional 168,987 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 294,542 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,391,000 after acquiring an additional 8,727 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $636.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.97 and a beta of 0.66.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 4.36%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 26th were given a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 26th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 127.27%.

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.