Insider Buying: Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Director Acquires $32,450.00 in Stock

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Director Jeffrey Bolton acquired 1,000 shares of Alerus Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.45 per share, with a total value of $32,450.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 15,163 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

ALRS traded up $0.83 on Wednesday, hitting $33.44. 27,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 176,151. The business’s fifty day moving average is $32.44 and its 200 day moving average is $28.33. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $20.31 and a fifty-two week high of $34.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $832.68 million, a P/E ratio of 31.56 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 90.1% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 50.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the third quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALRS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Monday, August 3rd. DA Davidson set a $36.00 target price on Alerus Financial in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings downgraded Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alerus Financial from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 1st. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.50.

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.