Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Sells 2,422 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC decreased its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 32.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,422 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in ALLETE by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in ALLETE by 32.9% during the fourth 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 purchased a new stake in ALLETE during the fourth quarter worth about $73,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in ALLETE by 38.0% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased 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 buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ALLETE Price Performance

ALE stock opened at $65.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $65.26 and a 200-day moving average of $65.05. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $60.34 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business 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 dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is presently 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.