Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 3,585 Shares of Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 1.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 188,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,585 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Allete worth $12,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 6.1% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 9,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $616,000 after buying an additional 540 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Allete by 56.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 9,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the last quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Allete in the 1st quarter worth approximately $319,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Allete in the first quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Allete by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 352,124 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,818,000 after purchasing an additional 49,993 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allete Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $66.10 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.93 and its 200 day moving average is $65.18. Allete, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.00 and a 52 week high of $66.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72 and a beta of 0.79.

Allete (NYSE:ALE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01. The business had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.30 million. Allete had a net margin of 12.10% and a return on equity of 6.05%. The company’s revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS.

Allete Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Allete’s payout ratio is presently 91.54%.

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.