StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ALLETE (NYSE:ALE)

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.9 %

ALLETE stock opened at $64.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.67. ALLETE has a twelve month low of $54.71 and a twelve month high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $407.20 million during the quarter. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ALLETE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ALE. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $89,584,000 after buying an additional 21,850 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in ALLETE by 187.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 65,222 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in ALLETE in the 3rd quarter valued at $779,000. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 107.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,807,000 after acquiring an additional 63,091 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 0.9% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,248,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is 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.