ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research to Hold

Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE – Get Rating) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday morning, Zacks.com reports.

According to Zacks, “ALLETE is an energy company. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth, U.S. Water Services headquartered in St. Michael, Minn., BNI Energy in Center, N.D., and has an eight percent equity interest in the American Transmission Co. “

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. TheStreet raised ALLETE from a c+ rating to a b rating in a report on Thursday, January 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on ALLETE from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a hold rating on the stock.

Shares of ALE stock opened at $59.81 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52 and a beta of 0.62. ALLETE has a fifty-two week low of $56.84 and a fifty-two week high of $73.10.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.29 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $383.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $353.25 million. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.89% and a net margin of 11.92%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.99 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that ALLETE will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 16th will be issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 13th. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 80.50%.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Amplius Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Widmann Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. FSB Premier Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 70.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Company Profile (Get Rating)

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. 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 145,000 retail customers and 15 non-affiliated municipal customers.

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