StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on ALLETE (NYSE:ALE)

Research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Mizuho upped their target price on ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $63.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.69 and a 200-day moving average of $61.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE has a 1 year low of $49.29 and a 1 year high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.30). ALLETE had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 14.36%. The firm had revenue of $354.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.24 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in ALLETE during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in ALLETE by 139.4% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in ALLETE by 4,157.1% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $75,000. 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.