Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc Invests $305,000 in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Yorktown Management & Research Co Inc bought a new position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,700 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in ALLETE by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $764,000 after buying an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in ALLETE by 1.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,081,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in ALLETE by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,215,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Performance

ALE traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.58. 225,558 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,113. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $65.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.86 and a 1-year high of $65.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued 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.