AQR Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 9.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 385,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,810 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.67% of ALLETE worth $24,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in ALLETE by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,615,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $394,548,000 after buying an additional 35,992 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 5.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after purchasing an additional 52,499 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in ALLETE by 59.1% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ALLETE in the second quarter worth approximately $21,985,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 7,981 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Performance

ALE opened at $64.19 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.88 and its 200 day moving average is $62.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.29 and a 12-month high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.30). The business had revenue of $354.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $547.24 million. ALLETE had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.07%. The company’s revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a $0.7005 dividend. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.