Inspire Investing LLC Cuts Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,023 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALE. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 131.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 139.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC acquired a new stake in ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $92,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE opened at $64.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $62.87 and a 200-day moving average of $60.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.29 and a 52 week high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by ($0.12). ALLETE had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.21%. The company had revenue of $403.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $581.26 million. As a group, analysts forecast that ALLETE, Inc. will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 67.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on ALLETE from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 16th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

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.