Vanguard Group Inc. Cuts Stake in Allete, Inc. $ALE

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in Allete, Inc. by 0.3%, holding approximately 6.35 million shares valued at $417.14 million.
• Allete reported a missed earnings estimate with earnings per share of $0.61, falling short of the $0.85 expectation, and revenue of $360.3 million compared to an estimated $425.3 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.73, representing a 4.5% yield and a payout ratio of 92.11%.

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,349,177 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,013 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.95% of Allete worth $417,141,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Arbitrage LLC raised its stake in Allete by 30.4% in the fourth quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC now owns 847,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,781,000 after buying an additional 197,340 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Allete by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 758,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,172,000 after buying an additional 93,810 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its stake in Allete by 8.6% in the first quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 416,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,387,000 after buying an additional 33,000 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Allete by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 331,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,479,000 after buying an additional 41,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its stake in Allete by 784.6% in the first quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 282,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $18,541,000 after buying an additional 250,302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Allete Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE:ALE traded down $0.0970 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $64.5230. The company's stock had a trading volume of 703,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 494,518. The company has a market capitalization of $3.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35 and a beta of 0.77. Allete, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.00 and a 12 month high of $66.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.34. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $65.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.27.

Allete (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $360.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.30 million. Allete had a return on equity of 5.71% and a net margin of 11.98%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.82 EPS.

Allete Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid 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 4.5%. Allete's payout ratio is 92.11%.

Allete 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.