Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $3.55 Million Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL increased its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 23.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,225 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned 0.09% of ALLETE worth $3,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ALE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in ALLETE by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ALLETE by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $89,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth about $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,971,000 after acquiring an additional 20,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC grew its stake in ALLETE by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 398,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,825,000 after acquiring an additional 30,479 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALE traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.72. The stock had a trading volume of 248,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,800. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.00. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.00 and a 52 week high of $65.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 94.19%.

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.