Allete (NYSE:ALE) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 540,256 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session's volume of 398,867 shares.The stock last traded at $66.07 and had previously closed at $66.39.

Allete Trading Down 0.4%

The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.98 and a 200-day moving average of $65.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58 and a beta of 0.79.

Allete (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.01. The firm had revenue of $400.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $456.30 million. Allete had a return on equity of 6.05% and a net margin of 12.10%. Allete's revenue was down .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.90 EPS.

Allete Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. Allete's dividend payout ratio is currently 91.54%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allete

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,371 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 44.5% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 591 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Allete by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 13,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $910,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.