Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $27.61 and last traded at $27.59, with a volume of 24723 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALRS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $28.00 to $28.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.38.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 2.8%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $704.39 million, a P/E ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 0.67.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $75.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Friday, March 27th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 27th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.55%.

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 ALRS. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after buying an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.