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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALRS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 380.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 2,278 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,623 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.8% in the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 80,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 3,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 3.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 149,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,416,000 after buying an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.81. 37,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 60,630. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $552.62 million, a PE ratio of 137.00 and a beta of 0.69. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $18.09 and a 52-week high of $25.85.

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

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 500.00%.

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.