Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Lowers Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lessened its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 308,168 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 56,647 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned 0.53% of ALLETE worth $19,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALE. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in ALLETE by 1.8% during the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in ALLETE by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in ALLETE by 6.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.3 %

ALLETE stock opened at $64.36 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $64.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.71 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ALLETE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

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.