Mackenzie Financial Corp Cuts Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 96.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,686 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 93,640 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd boosted its position in ALLETE by 148.2% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 17,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 10,175 shares in the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 198,112 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,117,000 after buying an additional 8,800 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $92,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $236,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in ALLETE by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 86,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,263,000 after acquiring an additional 3,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Sunday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $64.12 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.55. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $52.14 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.80.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $354.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $547.24 million. ALLETE had a return on equity of 7.07% and a net margin of 14.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share.

ALLETE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a $0.7005 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.79%.

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.