Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 61,800 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 61,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in ALLETE by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 61.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $158,000 after buying an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alerus Financial NA purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $65.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.69. The business's 50-day moving average is $65.26 and its 200 day moving average is $65.04. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $59.00 and a 1 year high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.

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