ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.94 and last traded at $65.90, with a volume of 13614 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $65.73.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ALE shares. StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $61.33.

ALLETE Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.80. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.29.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The company had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were given a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.28%. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $764,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.