ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Stock Position Cut by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 74.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 61,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,354,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in ALLETE by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in ALLETE by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in ALLETE in the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in ALLETE by 61.7% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alerus Financial NA bought a new position in ALLETE during the 4th quarter worth approximately $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.49. 454,416 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,869. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.25 and a 200-day moving average of $65.06. ALLETE, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.51 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. ALLETE's payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating on the 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.