Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th.

Alerus Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 24 consecutive years. Alerus Financial has a dividend payout ratio of 34.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Alerus Financial to earn $2.43 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.9%.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $20.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $513.64 million, a P/E ratio of 19.87 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. Alerus Financial has a 52-week low of $17.99 and a 52-week high of $24.41. The company has a fifty day moving average of $20.26 and a 200-day moving average of $21.45.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on ALRS shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.40.

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.