Allete (NYSE:ALE) Hits New 1-Year Low - What's Next?

Key Points

• Allete, Inc. reached a new 52-week low, trading down to $63.05 before closing at $63.36, with a trading volume of 440,057 shares.
• The company reported a loss of $0.24 per share against analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenues of $360.30 million falling short of estimates by $65 million.
• Allete also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73, representing an annualized yield of 4.6% despite a high payout ratio of 92.11%.

Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $63.05 and last traded at $63.36, with a volume of 440057 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.65.

Allete Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.05 and a 200-day moving average of $65.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Allete (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.24). The firm had revenue of $360.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.30 million. Allete had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 5.71%. Allete's revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS.

Allete Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Allete's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Allete

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AQR Arbitrage LLC boosted its holdings in Allete by 29.1% in the second quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC now owns 1,527,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $97,695,000 after acquiring an additional 344,241 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allete by 0.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,427,514 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $91,477,000 after buying an additional 13,023 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in Allete by 43.2% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 924,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,206,000 after buying an additional 278,716 shares during the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allete by 7.5% during the second quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC now owns 898,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,544,000 after buying an additional 62,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caxton Associates LLP bought a new position in Allete during the second quarter worth about $43,127,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

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.