ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Reaches New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $66.40 and last traded at $64.86, with a volume of 351640 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $65.17.

ALLETE Trading Down 0.6%

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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.89 and a beta of 0.80.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.01. The company had revenue of $400.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $456.30 million. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%. ALLETE's revenue was down .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share.

ALLETE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. ALLETE's payout ratio is 91.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 78.0% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new position in ALLETE in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in ALLETE in the 1st quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.