ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 0.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 112,800 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.20% of ALLETE worth $7,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 812,548 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the second quarter worth $21,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 6,668.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,941,000 after acquiring an additional 235,670 shares during the period. Water Island Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the second quarter worth $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 59.1% during the second 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 during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ALLETE Stock Performance

NYSE:ALE opened at $65.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $64.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.69. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.71 and a 12 month high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.21). The business 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 revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti raised 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ALLETE has an average 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.