Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 662 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,161 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 662 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $621,000 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 ALE. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $233,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1,278.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 51,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 48,011 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 455.3% in the 3rd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 21,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,114,000 after purchasing an additional 17,300 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 7,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $407,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in ALLETE by 1.0% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 33,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Trading Up 1.9 %

ALE opened at $60.35 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.03 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $58.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.78. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.29 and a fifty-two week high of $63.71.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its 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 return on equity of 7.31% and a net margin of 13.15%. The company had revenue of $402.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $425.21 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that ALLETE, Inc. will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.705 per share. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Sidoti lowered shares of ALLETE from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $64.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. Guggenheim raised shares of ALLETE from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on ALLETE from $57.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.60.

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.