Renaissance Technologies LLC Raises Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,200 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.10% of ALLETE worth $3,697,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,615,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $394,548,000 after purchasing an additional 35,992 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in ALLETE by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 52,499 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 2nd quarter valued at $21,985,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 308,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,387,000 after acquiring an additional 7,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 278,294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,597,000 after purchasing an additional 11,219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $64.36 on Monday. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.29 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 15.47 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.29.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $354.50 million for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $0.7005 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is presently 67.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.