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

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) saw a significant decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 243,500 shares, a decrease of 15.0% from the October 15th total of 286,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 74,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Alerus Financial stock opened at $22.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock has a market cap of $559.76 million, a P/E ratio of 138.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $22.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.02. Alerus Financial has a 52 week low of $18.05 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $80.58 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $52.30 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 6.02%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.45 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 500.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alerus Financial by 1.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 911,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,905,000 after purchasing an additional 13,637 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 4,147.8% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 26,294 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 25,675 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter worth $638,000. CWM LLC increased its holdings in Alerus Financial by 85,625.0% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 58,293 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,143,000 after acquiring an additional 58,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 123,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,323 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on ALRS. DA Davidson increased their target price on Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James upgraded Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.20.

About Alerus Financial

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.