CWA Asset Management Group LLC Acquires 2,339 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,339 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,271,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in ALLETE during the third quarter valued at $282,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 187.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 65,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 3rd quarter worth about $779,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

ALLETE stock opened at $64.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $64.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.06. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.86 and a 1 year high of $65.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share (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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, ALLETE presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

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.