Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 207,621 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 247% from the previous session’s volume of 59,794 shares.The stock last traded at $22.04 and had previously closed at $22.07.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALRS. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.20.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $21.28. The stock has a market cap of $557.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 137.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $80.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.30 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 6.02% and a net margin of 1.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Alerus Financial Co. will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALRS. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 4.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 123,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 5,323 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in Alerus Financial during the second quarter worth about $265,000. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 380.7% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,519 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 2.7% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 274,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,384,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 58.8% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 38,564 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 14,273 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.