Short Interest in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Expands By 18.6%

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 602,800 shares, a growth of 18.6% from the July 31st total of 508,200 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 58,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.4 days.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:ALRS traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $22.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 17,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,238. The company has a market cap of $444.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.82 and a beta of 0.66. Alerus Financial has a one year low of $16.80 and a one year high of $25.85. The business’s 50-day moving average is $20.87 and its 200-day moving average is $20.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.06). Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 7.25% and a net margin of 2.39%. The business had revenue of $80.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $49.20 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.45 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 163.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Hovde Group raised Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $21.00 to $23.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 16th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.50 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alerus Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.25.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ALRS. Cutler Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cutler Capital Management LLC now owns 157,480 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 380.7% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 1,203 shares during the period. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter valued at about $81,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 123,512 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after buying an additional 5,323 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 11.9% in the first quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 67,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 7,185 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.