Quest Partners LLC Purchases 24,523 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 249.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 24,523 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of ALLETE worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALE. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,215,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in ALLETE by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in ALLETE by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 6.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $443,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ALLETE by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 29,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,884,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on ALLETE in a report on Friday. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Sidoti upgraded 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ALE traded up $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.54. The company had a trading volume of 173,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 352,902. The business's 50-day moving average is $64.25 and its 200 day moving average is $63.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.71 and a 12-month high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. The firm had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

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

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.