DLD Asset Management LP Sells 5,521 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

DLD Asset Management LP reduced its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,521 shares during the period. ALLETE comprises approximately 0.4% of DLD Asset Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. DLD Asset Management LP owned about 0.10% of ALLETE worth $3,605,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in ALLETE by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 31.0% during the third 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 last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ALLETE Stock Down 0.7 %

ALE opened at $65.22 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ALLETE, Inc. has a twelve month low of $56.66 and a twelve month high of $65.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.74.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is 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.