Allete, Inc. $ALE Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its holdings in Allete, Inc. by 53.4%, owning approximately $1.91 million worth of the stock after selling 33,244 shares during the first quarter.
• Allete reported a missed earnings per share estimate of $0.61, falling short of the consensus estimate of $0.85, while revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% year-over-year but below analyst expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.73 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.5%, with a payout ratio of 92.11%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its holdings in shares of Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 53.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,025 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 33,244 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Allete worth $1,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALE. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in Allete by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 2,697 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Allete during the 4th quarter valued at about $280,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Allete by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 41,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,666,000 after acquiring an additional 4,069 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Allete during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,851,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Allete by 14.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 758,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,172,000 after acquiring an additional 93,810 shares during the period. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allete Trading Up 0.0%

Allete stock traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.17. 663,100 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,474. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.21. Allete, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.00 and a 12-month high of $66.46. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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

Allete Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Allete's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 92.11%.

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.