ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 180,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 50,258 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.31% of ALLETE worth $11,576,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.5% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,615,496 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,548,000 after buying an additional 35,992 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in ALLETE by 5.8% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 52,499 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in 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 acquiring an additional 812,548 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 59.1% during the second quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 9.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 385,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,052,000 after purchasing an additional 34,810 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE ALE traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $64.45. 196,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 353,704. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.71 and a 12 month high of $65.86. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.61.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a dividend of $0.705 per share. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research note on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ALLETE has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.00.

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.