Short Interest in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Increases By 13.8%

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 218,800 shares, an increase of 13.8% from the December 15th total of 192,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 101,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Alerus Financial Price Performance

Alerus Financial stock traded up $0.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.62. The stock had a trading volume of 234,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 76,002. The firm has a market capitalization of $497.17 million, a P/E ratio of 122.63 and a beta of 0.71. 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 firm's 50 day moving average is $20.80 and its 200 day moving average is $21.43. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $17.99 and a one year 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 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 the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.45 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 0.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 500.03%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 380.7% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,519 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $142,000. Harbor Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,947 shares of the company's stock valued at $403,000 after buying an additional 2,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $424,000. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Tuesday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $22.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler cut their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.80.

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.