BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,684 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 955.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,967,000 after purchasing an additional 812,548 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in ALLETE by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 766,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,739 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC grew its position in ALLETE by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its stake in ALLETE by 12.9% during the 3rd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 398,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,551,000 after buying an additional 45,447 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALLETE stock opened at $64.81 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.49 and its 200 day moving average is $63.81. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $55.86 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 the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.21). The company had revenue of $407.20 million during the quarter. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.705 dividend. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE 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.