ABC Arbitrage SA Acquires Shares of 49,404 ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

ABC Arbitrage SA purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 49,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,201,000. ABC Arbitrage SA owned approximately 0.09% of ALLETE at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its holdings in ALLETE by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in ALLETE by 31.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.5 %

ALE traded down $0.36 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.49. The stock had a trading volume of 445,936 shares, compared to its average volume of 384,339. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock's 50 day moving average is $65.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.54. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $55.86 and a one year high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

About ALLETE

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.