Quest Partners LLC Raises Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Quest Partners LLC lifted its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 249.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,523 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of ALLETE worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Boston Partners boosted its stake in ALLETE by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 30,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 11,321 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,615,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,548,000 after acquiring an additional 35,992 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ALLETE by 147.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 84,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,275,000 after acquiring an additional 50,361 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in ALLETE in the 2nd quarter worth $3,572,000. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $21,985,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Performance

ALLETE stock opened at $64.46 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.64. 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 company has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.71 and a twelve month high of $65.86.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALE shares. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.