PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Has $2.33 Million Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lowered its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,278 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 986 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $2,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 18,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,215,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in ALLETE by 2.2% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 16,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,007,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 14.8% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its holdings in ALLETE by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $239,000 after buying an additional 420 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,102 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $443,000 after buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALLETE stock opened at $65.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $64.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.83 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.95. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.71 and a fifty-two week high of $65.86.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by ($0.21). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.99% and a net margin of 11.49%. The firm had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.49 EPS.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $0.705 dividend. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Sidoti upgraded shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.00.

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.