ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance reduced its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,262 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $211,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in ALLETE by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $764,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in ALLETE by 1.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in ALLETE by 31.0% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $65.71 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

ALLETE 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.