First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

First Trust Advisors LP reduced its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 735,520 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 82,375 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 1.27% of ALLETE worth $47,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in ALLETE by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in ALLETE by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ALLETE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALLETE stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.18. The company's stock had a trading volume of 205,581 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,074. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $59.00 and a 1-year high of $65.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.02. 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 $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.48%. ALLETE's dividend 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.