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

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ALE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $60.40.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $62.92 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.66. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.13 and a beta of 0.75. ALLETE has a one year low of $49.29 and a one year high of $65.86.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be issued a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is 67.79%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ALLETE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners raised its holdings in ALLETE by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,169,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the period. Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $801,000. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 8,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 2,626 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in ALLETE by 214.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 339,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,932,000 after acquiring an additional 231,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its position in ALLETE by 102.9% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 42,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,241,000 after acquiring an additional 21,528 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.