ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Now Covered by StockNews.com

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

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

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $64.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.79. ALLETE has a one year low of $55.86 and a one year high of $65.86.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 955.1% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,967,000 after buying an additional 812,548 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in ALLETE during the second quarter worth $21,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 6,668.6% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,941,000 after purchasing an additional 235,670 shares in the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ALLETE in the second quarter valued at about $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 59.1% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

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.