Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Short Interest Update

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 186,500 shares, a decline of 26.5% from the November 15th total of 253,900 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 84,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALRS has been the subject of several research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.20.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 0.9 %

ALRS stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $22.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 67,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,786. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $22.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.32. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $18.09 and a 12 month high of $25.85. The company has a market capitalization of $558.45 million, a PE ratio of 137.75 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.18). Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 1.01%. The business had revenue of $80.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.30 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 27th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 500.00%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 58.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after purchasing an additional 16,436 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 416,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,522,000 after purchasing an additional 15,966 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 7.2% during the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 102,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after buying an additional 6,903 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 351,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,118,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth about $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Company Profile

Alerus Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Alerus Financial, National Association that engages in the provision of various financial services to businesses and consumers. The company operates in four segments: Banking, Mortgage, Retirement and Benefit Services, and Wealth Management.