UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Trims Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 104,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,732 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.18% of ALLETE worth $6,727,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALE. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in ALLETE by 261.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in ALLETE in the second quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in ALLETE in the second quarter worth approximately $75,000. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in ALLETE in the second quarter worth approximately $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

ALLETE stock opened at $64.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $55.86 and a 12-month high of $65.86.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ALLETE 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.