DLD Asset Management LP Lowers Holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

DLD Asset Management LP trimmed its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 9.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,521 shares during the period. ALLETE accounts for 0.4% of DLD Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. DLD Asset Management LP’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $3,605,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 198.2% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 6,388 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP bought a new stake in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $327,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at about $73,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in ALLETE by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 368,115 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Highbridge Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth about $54,592,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALLETE stock opened at $65.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.54 and a 200-day moving average of $64.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.74.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.73 dividend. This is a boost from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ALLETE’s payout ratio is 94.19%.

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.