ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Mizuho increased their price target on ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.5 %

ALE stock opened at $64.08 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE has a 1 year low of $49.29 and a 1 year high of $65.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $354.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.24 million. ALLETE had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.07%. ALLETE’s quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.7005 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is 67.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,615,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,548,000 after acquiring an additional 35,992 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after purchasing an additional 52,499 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ALLETE by 955.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,967,000 after purchasing an additional 812,548 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 716,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,848,000 after purchasing an additional 22,139 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised 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 valued at $27,532,000 after buying an additional 164,064 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.