Grace & White Inc. NY Makes New Investment in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

Grace & White Inc. NY acquired a new stake in shares of Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 256,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,930,000. Grace & White Inc. NY owned 1.01% of Alerus Financial at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 2,278 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 14.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,947 shares of the company’s stock valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 2,717 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 351,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,118,000 after buying an additional 3,623 shares during the period. Finally, Sippican Capital Advisors increased its stake in Alerus Financial by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 80,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after buying an additional 3,665 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on ALRS. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Alerus Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Alerus Financial from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Alerus Financial in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Alerus Financial from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alerus Financial has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.40.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ALRS opened at $21.38 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $20.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.47. Alerus Financial Co. has a 52 week low of $17.99 and a 52 week high of $24.41. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $541.77 million, a P/E ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.71.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 27th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

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.