AQR Arbitrage LLC Purchases 197,340 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

AQR Arbitrage LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 30.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 847,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 197,340 shares during the period. ALLETE accounts for 1.2% of AQR Arbitrage LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. AQR Arbitrage LLC owned 1.47% of ALLETE worth $54,781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,464,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $50,971,000 after acquiring an additional 20,245 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in ALLETE by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 758,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93,810 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 398,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,825,000 after purchasing an additional 30,479 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ALLETE Stock Up 0.2 %

ALE stock opened at $65.41 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.04. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.15 and a 52 week high of $65.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

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.