Short Interest in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Drops By 5.8%

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 399,500 shares, a drop of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 424,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 41,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 9.7 days.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 0.2 %

ALRS opened at $19.92 on Thursday. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $13.11 and a fifty-two week high of $25.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $393.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.95 and a beta of 0.65. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $21.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.45.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.05). Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.34% and a return on equity of 8.69%. The company had revenue of $46.99 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $45.00 million. As a group, research analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 1.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is presently 133.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,368,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,601,000 after purchasing an additional 350,976 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the third quarter worth about $5,000,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 26.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 847,586 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,731,000 after purchasing an additional 175,180 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Alerus Financial during the first quarter worth about $1,711,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 29.1% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 254,175 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,691,000 after purchasing an additional 57,279 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $23.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th.

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.