Wall Street Zen Upgrades Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) to “Buy”

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on ALRS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.50 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS opened at $24.62 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $625.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30 and a beta of 0.66. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $15.78 and a 1-year high of $25.00.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thompson Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Alerus Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Alerus Financial by 172.7% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Alerus Financial

Here are the key news stories impacting Alerus Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Alerus from “hold” to a “strong-buy,” signaling stronger buy-side interest and likely contributing to demand for the shares. Zacks Upgrade Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS $0.85 vs. $0.57 consensus and revenue above estimates — reinforcing the view of improving fundamentals and helping justify higher valuations. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson raised its price target from $25 to $26 (maintaining a “neutral” rating) — the higher target implies modest upside and supports near-term price appreciation. DA Davidson Note
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added ALRS to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) value stocks list, which can attract value-oriented investors and increase buying interest. Zacks Rank #1
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target from $24 to $25 and kept a “market perform” rating — a small lift but not a definitive buy signal. KBW Note Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company earnings call materials and transcript discuss strategic deleveraging and other execution items — useful for longer-term thesis but broader impact depends on follow-through. Call Highlights Transcript Presentation

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.