CWA Asset Management Group LLC Makes New Investment in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,274 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,109,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in ALLETE by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,007,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $239,000 after acquiring an additional 420 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 6.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $443,000 after buying an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,884,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $65.34. The stock had a trading volume of 197,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 355,516. The company's 50-day moving average price is $64.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.43. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.01 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.14 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.705 dividend. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Company 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.