ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Position Raised by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 591 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $609,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALE. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in ALLETE by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 1.9% during the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after buying an additional 315 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its holdings in ALLETE by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $100,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in ALLETE by 14.8% in the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.3 %

ALLETE stock opened at $65.50 on Wednesday. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $56.66 and a 52 week high of $65.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

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.