Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Stake Boosted by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS - Free Report) by 2,346.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 287,931 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 276,161 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 1.14% of Alerus Financial worth $5,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALRS. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 6,451 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the company's stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Alerus Financial by 17.1% during the 4th quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. now owns 11,164 shares of the company's stock valued at $215,000 after purchasing an additional 1,628 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $234,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $381,000. Institutional investors own 51.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALRS has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $24.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alerus Financial presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $23.40.

Alerus Financial Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of ALRS traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $17.00. The stock had a trading volume of 71,766 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,927. 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 has a market cap of $433.69 million, a P/E ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.67. Alerus Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $24.41. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.46.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 7.66%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Alerus Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Alerus Financial 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.