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

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

Separately, Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ALLETE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $64.92 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. ALLETE has a 12 month low of $53.14 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $64.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.32.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted 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). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. ALLETE’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new stake in ALLETE during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its position in ALLETE by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 44,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after buying an additional 10,302 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 5.0% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the third quarter worth about $205,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE in the third quarter worth about $1,109,000. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.