SG Americas Securities LLC Raises Position in Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,812 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,590 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Alerus Financial were worth $170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 buying an additional 2,278 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 351,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,118,000 after acquiring an additional 3,623 shares in the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors increased its position in shares of Alerus Financial by 4.8% during the third quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 80,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,842,000 after acquiring an additional 3,665 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 3.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 149,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,416,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management boosted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 7.2% in the third quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 102,713 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 6,903 shares during the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alerus Financial Stock Performance

ALRS stock opened at $21.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $547.85 million, a P/E ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. Alerus Financial Co. has a 12-month low of $17.99 and a 12-month high of $24.41.

Alerus Financial (NASDAQ:ALRS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a net margin of 6.26% and a return on equity of 7.66%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Alerus Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.