Hancock Whitney Corp Reduces Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Hancock Whitney Corp trimmed its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 5.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $966,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in ALLETE during the first quarter valued at about $854,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 888,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,355,000 after acquiring an additional 24,690 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in ALLETE by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 19,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,169,000 after acquiring an additional 3,647 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in ALLETE by 167.1% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 34,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,071,000 after acquiring an additional 21,725 shares during the period. Finally, Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $801,000. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALE. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research note on Friday, July 26th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, ALLETE has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.04. 139,696 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,200. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $63.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.65. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $49.29 and a one year high of $65.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.09 by ($0.12). The company had revenue of $403.30 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $581.26 million. ALLETE had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.21%.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.7005 per share. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.79%.

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.