ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Performance

NYSE ALE opened at $64.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE has a twelve month low of $53.14 and a twelve month high of $65.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.30). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $354.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $547.24 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. ALLETE’s revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. This is a boost from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s payout ratio is 90.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 157.6% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 8,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 5,502 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in ALLETE by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 14,146 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $844,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in ALLETE by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 13,031 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 2,035 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 18.4% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 32,734 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after buying an additional 5,098 shares during the period. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the first quarter worth about $854,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

About ALLETE

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.