ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Given Consensus Rating of "Reduce" by Analysts

Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the five brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.60.

Several research firms have issued reports on ALE. Sidoti downgraded ALLETE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $64.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded shares of ALLETE from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, January 22nd.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALLETE stock traded up $0.04 during trading on Thursday, reaching $58.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 246,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,439. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.24. The business's fifty day moving average price is $58.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.53. The firm has a market cap of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.75. ALLETE has a one year low of $49.29 and a one year high of $66.12.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.08). ALLETE had a net margin of 13.15% and a return on equity of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $402.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.21 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that ALLETE will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 15th were issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 14th. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.79%. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.58%.

Institutional Trading of ALLETE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 17,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in ALLETE in the first quarter valued at $204,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 10.9% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 4,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in ALLETE in the first quarter valued at $1,252,000. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 11.7% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 30,291 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,085,000 after buying an additional 3,163 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

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.