Pacer Advisors Inc. Cuts Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 39.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,620 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,617 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in ALLETE were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALE. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in ALLETE in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 261.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,083 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in ALLETE by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALE stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.58. The stock had a trading volume of 225,558 shares, compared to its average volume of 402,006. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.80. The stock's 50 day moving average is $65.07 and its 200 day moving average is $64.47. ALLETE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.86 and a twelve month high of $65.95.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

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.