Sterling Capital Management LLC Decreases Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Sterling Capital Management LLC cut its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,810 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,275 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in ALLETE were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 187.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 65,222 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in ALLETE by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the third quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 9.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,056 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,190,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares during the period. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 19,613 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of ALE stock traded up $0.16 on Thursday, hitting $65.26. The stock had a trading volume of 56,001 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,821. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $59.00 and a 12-month high of $65.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.28 and a 200 day moving average of $65.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock.

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.