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

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

Alerus Financial Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ALRS stock traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.14. 83,975 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 82,796. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $535.69 million, a PE ratio of 20.73 and a beta of 0.71. Alerus Financial has a 1-year low of $17.99 and a 1-year high of $24.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $20.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.48.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 6.26%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alerus Financial will post 1.96 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is presently 78.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALRS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday. 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, Alerus Financial presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $23.40.

Institutional Trading of Alerus Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ALRS. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in Alerus Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,966,000. Grace & White Inc. NY acquired a new position in shares of Alerus Financial in the fourth quarter worth $4,930,000. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the fourth quarter worth $2,620,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Alerus Financial by 70.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 80,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 33,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in Alerus Financial by 191.1% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 46,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,000 after purchasing an additional 30,750 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.