ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 614,899 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 109% from the previous session’s volume of 293,597 shares.The stock last traded at $63.53 and had previously closed at $64.27.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ALE. Guggenheim upgraded shares of ALLETE from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Sidoti cut ALLETE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.60.

ALLETE Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.67 and its 200 day moving average is $58.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). ALLETE had a return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 13.15%. The business had revenue of $402.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.21 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that ALLETE, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALE. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in ALLETE by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 139.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 381.3% during the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ALLETE

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.