Fmr LLC Cuts Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Fmr LLC reduced its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 936,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,084 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $60,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 955.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,967,000 after acquiring an additional 812,548 shares in the last quarter. 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 stake in shares of ALLETE by 6,668.6% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,941,000 after buying an additional 235,670 shares in the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in ALLETE by 59.1% during the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,532,000 after acquiring an additional 164,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALE has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Sunday, December 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $64.54 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.78. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.86 and a 52-week high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. ALLETE’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.38%.

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.