Stiles Financial Services Inc Takes $204,000 Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Stiles Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 3,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ALLETE by 955.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,967,000 after purchasing an additional 812,548 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE in the second quarter worth about $21,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in ALLETE by 6,668.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,941,000 after acquiring an additional 235,670 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new position in ALLETE during the second quarter valued at approximately $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 59.1% in the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,532,000 after acquiring an additional 164,064 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.8 %

ALLETE stock opened at $65.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.38. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.14 and a 12 month high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $407.20 million during the quarter. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is 90.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on ALE shares. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.00.

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.