Wall Street Zen Downgrades Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) to Hold

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ALRS. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Zacks Research upgraded Alerus Financial from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Alerus Financial from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.00.

Alerus Financial Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of ALRS opened at $23.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. Alerus Financial has a fifty-two week low of $15.78 and a fifty-two week high of $26.32. The company’s fifty day moving average is $24.28 and its 200 day moving average is $22.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $606.55 million, a PE ratio of 36.18 and a beta of 0.63.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $71.43 million. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 4.36% and a return on equity of 13.18%. Sell-side analysts expect that Alerus Financial will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in Alerus Financial by 90.1% in 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. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Alerus Financial by 50.0% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in Alerus Financial by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 2,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 51.25% of the company’s stock.

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.