Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Gabelli Funds LLC cut its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 29.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 346,689 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 142,200 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned approximately 0.60% of ALLETE worth $22,465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 66,175 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,248,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in ALLETE by 187.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,425,000 after buying an additional 65,222 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,584,000 after buying an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in ALLETE during the third quarter worth $282,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in ALLETE by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after acquiring an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of ALLETE stock opened at $65.00 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $65.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.98. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.19%.

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.