Wall Street Zen Downgrades Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) to Sell
by Teresa Graham · The Cerbat GemAlerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS – Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.
Several other research firms have also commented on ALRS. Zacks Research lowered shares of Alerus Financial from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial set a $29.00 target price on shares of Alerus Financial and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Alerus Financial from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Alerus Financial from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Alerus Financial from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on Alerus Financial
Alerus Financial Stock Performance
NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $25.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $651.01 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.59 and a beta of 0.59. Alerus Financial has a 1 year low of $17.40 and a 1 year high of $26.32. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.
Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.28. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 13.18% and a net margin of 4.36%.The firm had revenue of $77.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.43 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alerus Financial will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alerus Financial
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial during the 1st quarter worth about $1,195,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Alerus Financial by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,420 shares of the company’s stock worth $248,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Alerus Financial in the first quarter worth about $441,000. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in Alerus Financial by 29.7% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 28,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 6,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 32,263 shares of the company’s stock valued at $698,000 after buying an additional 1,072 shares during the period. 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.