Trexquant Investment LP Takes $327,000 Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 5,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 1.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 21,850 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in ALLETE during the fourth quarter worth about $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,971,000 after purchasing an additional 20,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 368,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

ALE traded down $0.11 during trading on Friday, reaching $64.72. 248,329 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 375,272. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.09 and a 12-month high of $65.99. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ALLETE's payout ratio is 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.