UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Reduces Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,732 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $6,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALE. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised 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 acquiring an additional 315 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC increased its stake in ALLETE by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ALE. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $64.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.86 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.81.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.