Entropy Technologies LP Sells 3,700 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 44.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the quarter. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $293,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in ALLETE by 955.1% during the second 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. acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $21,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 6,668.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,941,000 after buying an additional 235,670 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in ALLETE in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position 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 Price Performance

Shares of ALE stock opened at $64.36 on Friday. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.71 and a 52 week high of $65.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.24 and its 200-day moving average is $63.59.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $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 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 4.38%. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALE. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus 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.