ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 21.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 180,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 50,258 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.31% of ALLETE worth $11,576,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALE. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new position in ALLETE in the third quarter worth about $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 261.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in ALLETE during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in ALLETE during the second quarter valued at about $75,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $170,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of ALE stock traded up $0.20 on Monday, hitting $64.63. The stock had a trading volume of 244,619 shares, compared to its average volume of 351,325. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company's 50 day moving average price is $64.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.97. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $55.86 and a 1 year high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $407.20 million during the quarter. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.49 EPS.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $0.705 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.36%. This is an increase from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Wednesday, December 25th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

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.