ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Stock analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The firm set a "hold" rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Separately, Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Price Performance

ALLETE stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.37. 305,442 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 352,159. The company's fifty day moving average is $64.56 and its 200-day moving average is $63.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45. ALLETE has a 52 week low of $55.86 and a 52 week high of $65.86. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Institutional Trading of ALLETE

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,081,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in ALLETE by 2.2% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position 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. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 14.8% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

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.