StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ALLETE (NYSE:ALE)

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Thursday. The brokerage set a "hold" rating on the utilities provider's stock.

Separately, Sidoti upgraded 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALE traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $64.90. 437,432 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 350,758. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80 and a beta of 0.81. ALLETE has a 52-week low of $55.86 and a 52-week high of $65.86. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.60 and its 200-day moving average is $64.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.45.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. ALLETE's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,459,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,888,000 after purchasing an additional 13,335 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in ALLETE by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,584,000 after purchasing an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $60,118,000 after buying an additional 52,499 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 955.1% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,967,000 after buying an additional 812,548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 766,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,192,000 after buying an additional 7,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

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.