Brokerages Set Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) PT at $26.00

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $26.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ALRS shares. Zacks Research raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. 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, January 30th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALRS. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 265.7% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 236,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,123,000 after purchasing an additional 171,984 shares during the period. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 102.2% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,530,000 after purchasing an additional 168,987 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $2,982,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new stake in Alerus Financial in the second quarter worth approximately $2,341,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 298,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,712,000 after purchasing an additional 80,599 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $23.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $598.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.71 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Alerus Financial has a twelve month low of $15.78 and a twelve month high of $26.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.96.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. The firm 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 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 27th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 127.27%.

About Alerus Financial

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.