Olympiad Research LP Increases Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Olympiad Research LP raised its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 72.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,271 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 11,418 shares during the quarter. ALLETE comprises 1.1% of Olympiad Research LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Olympiad Research LP's holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,751,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALE. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 33.6% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 33,982 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,181,000 after buying an additional 8,543 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,070 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position 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 in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded down $0.25 during trading on Thursday, reaching $64.64. 258,752 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 356,728. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.14 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. ALLETE's payout ratio is 90.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALE shares. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Thursday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Sidoti raised shares of ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.