Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Director Acquires 1,000 Shares of Stock

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Director Jeffrey Bolton acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.45 per share, for a total transaction of $32,450.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 15,163 shares in the company, valued at approximately $492,039.35. This trade represents a 7.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ALRS traded up $0.83 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.44. 27,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $20.31 and a 12-month high of $34.40. The firm has a market cap of $832.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.33.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 14.41%. The firm had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $76.99 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 25th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 83.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALRS has been the topic of several recent research reports. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Alerus Financial from $29.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings 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 grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.6% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,925,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 65,410 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 505 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after acquiring an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.