Highbridge Capital Management LLC Acquires Shares of 842,466 ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 842,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,592,000. ALLETE accounts for about 2.1% of Highbridge Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Highbridge Capital Management LLC owned 1.46% of ALLETE at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in ALLETE by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,459,692 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $157,888,000 after buying an additional 13,335 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in ALLETE by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,584,000 after buying an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in ALLETE by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,971,000 after buying an additional 20,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in ALLETE by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 352,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,818,000 after buying an additional 49,993 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $65.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.87. ALLETE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.66 and a twelve month high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.45%. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock.

ALLETE Company Profile

ALLETE, Inc operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. In addition, the company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 150,000 retail customers and 14 non-affiliated municipal customers.