OLD Republic International Corp Reduces Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

OLD Republic International Corp lowered its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 29.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 383,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 158,000 shares during the period. OLD Republic International Corp owned about 0.66% of ALLETE worth $24,825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Glazer Capital LLC bought a new position in ALLETE during the third quarter valued at about $5,766,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,378,000. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 187.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,425,000 after buying an additional 65,222 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in ALLETE by 107.8% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 121,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,807,000 after buying an additional 63,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ABC Arbitrage SA bought a new stake in ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at $3,201,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

NYSE ALE traded down $0.07 on Monday, hitting $65.45. The stock had a trading volume of 239,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,456. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $65.27 and a 200-day moving average of $64.57. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.86 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.80.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

ALLETE 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.