ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 185,862 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,900 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned 0.32% of ALLETE worth $11,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 964,193 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 52,499 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 955.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 897,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,967,000 after acquiring an additional 812,548 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 766,343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,192,000 after acquiring an additional 7,739 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 441,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,532,000 after purchasing an additional 164,064 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 398,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 45,447 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALE opened at $64.59 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.75. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.60 and a 52-week high of $65.86.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALE. Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Sunday. They set 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.