ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – What’s Next?

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 408,065 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 349,611 shares.The stock last traded at $65.19 and had previously closed at $65.45.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.33.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.2 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.16. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.03 and a beta of 0.80. 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) last posted its 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 return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.49 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.705 dividend. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 90.38%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,309,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 19,613 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,271,000 after buying an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in ALLETE by 9.8% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 65,056 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,190,000 after acquiring an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in ALLETE during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $282,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $89,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.