Holocene Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 28,044 ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 28,044 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,800,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 955.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,967,000 after buying an additional 812,548 shares during the period. Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new stake in ALLETE during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $21,985,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in ALLETE by 6,668.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 239,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $14,941,000 after purchasing an additional 235,670 shares during the last quarter. Water Island Capital LLC bought a new position in ALLETE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,583,000. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of ALE traded down $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $64.54. The stock had a trading volume of 354,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,904. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.86 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.78.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). The business had revenue of $407.20 million during the quarter. ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were given a dividend of $0.705 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Sunday, December 1st. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Sidoti upgraded 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, ALLETE currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

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.