Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $25.50 to $24.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price target on Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of ALRS stock opened at $24.62 on Friday. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $25.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $22.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market cap of $625.27 million, a P/E ratio of 37.30 and a beta of 0.66.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.38% and a net margin of 4.36%. Analysts predict that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ALRS. Thompson Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial in the second quarter worth $32,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 90.1% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 1,544 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Alerus Financial by 172.7% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,371 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares during the period. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Alerus Financial News

Here are the key news stories impacting Alerus Financial this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks upgraded Alerus from “hold” to a “strong-buy,” signaling stronger buy-side interest and likely contributing to demand for the shares. Zacks Upgrade Coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat expectations — EPS $0.85 vs. $0.57 consensus and revenue above estimates — reinforcing the view of improving fundamentals and helping justify higher valuations. Earnings Beat
• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson raised its price target from $25 to $26 (maintaining a “neutral” rating) — the higher target implies modest upside and supports near-term price appreciation. DA Davidson Note
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks added ALRS to its Rank #1 (Strong Buy) value stocks list, which can attract value-oriented investors and increase buying interest. Zacks Rank #1
• Neutral Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target from $24 to $25 and kept a “market perform” rating — a small lift but not a definitive buy signal. KBW Note Coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Company earnings call materials and transcript discuss strategic deleveraging and other execution items — useful for longer-term thesis but broader impact depends on follow-through. Call Highlights Transcript Presentation

About Alerus Financial

Alerus Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: ALRS) is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Grand Forks, North Dakota. The firm provides a full range of commercial and consumer banking products, including deposit accounts, lending solutions and treasury management services for individuals, small businesses and larger corporate clients. Through its community banking network, Alerus emphasizes local decision-making and personalized service to meet the needs of its varied client base.

In addition to traditional banking offerings, Alerus operates a national mortgage origination and servicing platform that delivers home purchase and refinance loans.