Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $80.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $76.99 million.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of Alerus Financial stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $32.95. The company had a trading volume of 255,373 shares, compared to its average volume of 178,448. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $26.78. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $20.26 and a 1-year high of $33.44. The company has a market capitalization of $828.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Friday, June 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This is an increase from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 26th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 15,363 shares of the company’s stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 4,002 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 245,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,529,000 after acquiring an additional 19,490 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.6% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 64,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,444,000 after acquiring an additional 13,070 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 63.5% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 15,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,000 after acquiring an additional 6,190 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 62.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 34,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 13,332 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial began coverage on Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

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.