Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys Shares of 19,798 Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alerus Financial Co. (NASDAQ:ALRS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.08% of Alerus Financial as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALRS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Alerus Financial by 207.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,214 shares of the company’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 16,336 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Alerus Financial by 58.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 44,399 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,017,000 after acquiring an additional 16,436 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in Alerus Financial during the 4th quarter worth about $2,620,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Alerus Financial by 70.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 80,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 33,247 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Alerus Financial by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 416,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,522,000 after purchasing an additional 15,966 shares in the last quarter. 51.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alerus Financial Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of ALRS opened at $18.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $469.91 million, a PE ratio of 18.06 and a beta of 0.74. 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $20.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $21.09. Alerus Financial Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.95 and a fifty-two week 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.16. Alerus Financial had a return on equity of 7.66% and a net margin of 6.26%. Analysts forecast that Alerus Financial Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Alerus Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. Alerus Financial’s payout ratio is 78.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Alerus Financial 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.