Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC Acquires New Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $38,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALE. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.8% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in ALLETE by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in ALLETE by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 12.3% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 6.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

NYSE ALE opened at $64.93 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.31 and a 200 day moving average of $63.67. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $54.71 and a one year high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.34%. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is 90.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.