The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $3.75 Million Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,721 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.10% of ALLETE worth $3,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in ALLETE in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 73.3% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 71,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,559,000 after acquiring an additional 30,030 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in ALLETE by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,738,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in ALLETE by 28.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 129,635 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,321,000 after acquiring an additional 28,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in ALLETE by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 766,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,739 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALE shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Sunday, December 1st. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Performance

NYSE:ALE opened at $64.54 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.81. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.86 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. ALLETE’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

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.