Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Receives $26.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALRS. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 31st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its position in Alerus Financial by 35.2% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 245,497 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,529,000 after purchasing an additional 19,490 shares during the period. Man Group plc grew its holdings in Alerus Financial by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 64,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 13,070 shares during the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 63.5% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,000 after purchasing an additional 6,190 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 62.4% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 13,332 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

ALRS stock opened at $24.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $630.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.64 and a beta of 0.63. 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 50 day simple moving average of $24.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.79. Alerus Financial has a 1 year low of $15.78 and a 1 year high of $26.32.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.38%. The company had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. Research analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is 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.