Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Hits New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRSGet Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $31.86 and last traded at $31.8040, with a volume of 110817 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $31.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on ALRS shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Alerus Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, July 9th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research raised Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a 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 report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ALRS

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $29.45 and a 200 day moving average of $26.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $818.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.64 and a beta of 0.68.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRSGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.31. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 6.74%.The business had revenue of $75.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $73.78 million. As a group, analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 3.03 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter valued at $441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 29.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

About Alerus Financial

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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