Short Interest in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) Decreases By 15.0%

Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 243,500 shares, a drop of 15.0% from the October 15th total of 286,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 74,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.3 days.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ ALRS opened at $22.09 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $559.76 million, a P/E ratio of 138.07 and a beta of 0.68. Alerus Financial has a 12 month low of $18.05 and a 12 month high of $25.85. 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 has a 50-day moving average of $22.39 and a 200-day moving average of $21.03.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.44 by ($0.18). The company 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 period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 0.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 500.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Alerus Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.20.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 380.7% in the 2nd 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 period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $142,000. Harbor Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $226,000. Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in Alerus Financial in the second quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Alerus Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.