Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 14.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 758,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 93,810 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $49,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $156,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $158,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

NYSE ALE opened at $65.50 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.82. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.51 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.08.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.