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

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALRS. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $28.38.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 2.8%

The stock has a market cap of $704.39 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.13 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $25.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $75.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $73.78 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Equities analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,951,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 60.4% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 92,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after purchasing an additional 34,754 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.6% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 81,208 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,925,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter valued at approximately $90,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 6.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 886,815 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,027,000 after purchasing an additional 56,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.