Independent Advisor Alliance Acquires 249 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 249 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALE. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in ALLETE by 131.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in ALLETE by 85.6% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management raised its holdings in ALLETE by 381.3% in the 3rd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 900 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 713 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth $77,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

NYSE:ALE opened at $62.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14 and a beta of 0.75. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.29 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $60.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.12.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.08). ALLETE had a return on equity of 7.21% and a net margin of 13.94%. The company had revenue of $402.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that ALLETE, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.79%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.40.

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.