Entropy Technologies LP Sells 3,700 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Entropy Technologies LP trimmed its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 44.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,700 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Wolverine Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 30.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 44,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after purchasing an additional 10,302 shares during the last quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 5.0% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,013,000 after buying an additional 1,484 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,109,000. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc bought a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $204,000. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.8 %

ALE opened at $64.36 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $64.24 and a 200-day moving average of $63.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63 and a beta of 0.80. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.71 and a 1-year high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued 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 during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.49 earnings per share. ALLETE’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.38%. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

ALLETE 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.