Gator Capital Management LLC Makes New $1.44 Million Investment in Alerus Financial $ALRS

Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 64,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,437,000. Gator Capital Management LLC owned 0.26% of Alerus Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $59,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted 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 worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 648.1% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 259.2% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $23.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market cap of $594.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.49 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a 50 day moving average of $24.39 and a 200-day moving average of $22.86. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $15.78 and a 1-year high of $26.32.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%.The business had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. DA Davidson upped their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group cut Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

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.