Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Price Target Raised to $26.00

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) had its price target upped by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from $25.00 to $26.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. DA Davidson’s price target indicates a potential upside of 6.27% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on ALRS. Weiss Ratings raised Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Hovde Group lowered Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $24.47. The company had a trading volume of 89,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 149,435. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $22.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $22.21. The company has a market capitalization of $621.41 million, a P/E ratio of 37.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $15.78 and a 52-week high of $25.00.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $77.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.38%. Equities research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 73,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares in the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 102.2% in the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 334,357 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,530,000 after acquiring an additional 168,987 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 113,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,564,000 after buying an additional 1,975 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 83.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 73,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 33,205 shares during the period. 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.