DA Davidson Analysts Lift Earnings Estimates for Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) – Research analysts at DA Davidson raised their FY2024 EPS estimates for Alerus Financial in a report released on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.20 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $1.15. DA Davidson has a “Neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Alerus Financial’s current full-year earnings is $1.20 per share.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ALRS. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.50 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alerus Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.25.

Alerus Financial Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $20.48 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $19.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $20.76. The stock has a market cap of $405.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.80 and a beta of 0.66. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.80 and a fifty-two week high of $25.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $80.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.20 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 7.30%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.45 EPS.

Alerus Financial Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This is a positive change from Alerus Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 163.27%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alerus Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $81,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 9,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the fourth quarter worth approximately $221,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth approximately $265,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 4,147.8% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 26,294 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 25,675 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.