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

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 74,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the 1st quarter valued at about $638,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 85,625.0% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 58,293 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,143,000 after purchasing an additional 58,225 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 4,147.8% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 26,294 shares of the company's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 25,675 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 191.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 46,839 shares of the company's stock worth $919,000 after buying an additional 30,750 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $265,000. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Shares of ALRS traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $22.09. The stock had a trading volume of 113,962 shares, compared to its average volume of 60,123. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market capitalization of $559.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 138.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50-day moving average is $22.39 and its 200 day moving average is $21.02. Alerus Financial has a 12-month low of $18.05 and a 12-month high of $25.85.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $80.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $52.30 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 1.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.45 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Alerus Financial's payout ratio is presently 500.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALRS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Alerus Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.