Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 164 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $88,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares in the last quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC increased its holdings in ALLETE by 30.4% in the 4th quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC now owns 847,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,781,000 after buying an additional 197,340 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter valued at $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,971,000 after acquiring an additional 20,245 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 758,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93,810 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

NYSE ALE opened at $64.98 on Monday. ALLETE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.51 and a twelve month high of $65.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96 and a beta of 0.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.17.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.01. The company had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.30 million. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%. The company’s revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.90 EPS.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.54%.

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.