ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a research report released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, ALLETE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.33.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.0 %

ALE opened at $65.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. ALLETE has a fifty-two week low of $55.86 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.71 and a 200-day moving average of $64.08.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.38%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ALLETE

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ALLETE in the third quarter worth $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in ALLETE by 261.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 2nd quarter worth about $74,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the second quarter valued at about $170,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in shares of ALLETE in the third quarter valued at about $202,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.