Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Weiss Ratings upgraded the stock from a hold (c+) rating to a buy (b-) rating. The stock traded as high as $34.67 and last traded at $34.57, with a volume of 32,789 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.17.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research downgraded Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on Alerus Financial in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised Alerus Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $36.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alerus Financial

In other Alerus Financial news, Director Jeffrey Bolton purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.45 per share, with a total value of $32,450.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 15,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $492,039.35. The trade was a 7.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter worth about $56,672,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 886,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,027,000 after buying an additional 56,763 shares during the period. M3F Inc. boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. M3F Inc. now owns 417,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,890,000 after buying an additional 5,945 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,869,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,084,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 4.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $860.76 million, a PE ratio of 29.48 and a beta of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $32.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $79.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.72 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.48% and a net margin of 7.35%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 25th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 75.21%.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation is a diversified financial services company and the holding company for Alerus Financial, N.A. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides consumer and commercial banking services, including checking and savings accounts, residential and commercial lending, treasury management, and digital banking solutions.

The company also offers wealth management, investment advisory, trust, retirement plan administration, and employee benefit services. These offerings are designed to serve individuals, families, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and employers through an integrated banking and financial planning model.

Alerus traces its roots to 1933 and serves clients through offices and operations in portions of the Upper Midwest and other selected U.S.