Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC cut its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,798 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of ALLETE worth $2,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System raised its stake in ALLETE by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $862,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 105.4% in the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 131.2% in 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 during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $59.71 on Friday. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.29 and a fifty-two week high of $65.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.79. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.89 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $425.21 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. ALLETE’s quarterly revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that ALLETE, Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, February 15th were paid a dividend of $0.705 per share. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.72%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 14th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALE shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised shares of ALLETE from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Sidoti downgraded shares of ALLETE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.60.

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.