Short Interest in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Declines By 26.5%

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of 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 daily volume of 84,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $5,966,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 191.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 46,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after acquiring an additional 30,750 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Alerus Financial in the second quarter valued at about $265,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial in the third quarter worth about $530,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $417,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALRS has been the subject of a number of 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 report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler dropped 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. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.20.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $22.04 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $22.38 and a 200-day moving average of $21.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $18.09 and a 1-year high of $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $558.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.75 and a beta of 0.69.

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

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business 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 is Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio 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.