Short Interest in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Rises By 7.8%

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, a growth of 7.8% from the December 31st total of 992,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 293,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ALLETE

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 204.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 20,972 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,308,000 after acquiring an additional 14,076 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in ALLETE in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,352 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $279,000 after acquiring an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in ALLETE by 261.0% during the third 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. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 98.9% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 11,184 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $718,000 after purchasing an additional 5,561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

ALLETE Price Performance

NYSE:ALE traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $65.58. 225,558 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,006. The business's 50-day moving average price is $65.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE has a 12-month low of $55.86 and a 12-month high of $65.95.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.45%. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

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.