Short Interest in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Rises By 7.8%

ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,070,000 shares, an increase of 7.8% from the December 15th total of 992,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 293,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

ALLETE Price Performance

ALLETE stock opened at $65.71 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.26. The stock has a market cap of $3.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06 and a beta of 0.80. ALLETE has a 12-month low of $55.86 and a 12-month high of $65.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a dividend of $0.705 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. This is a boost from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALE shares. StockNews.com started coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Sidoti upgraded ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.33.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in ALLETE during the third quarter worth about $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in ALLETE by 261.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,083 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in ALLETE during the second quarter worth about $74,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new position in ALLETE during the third quarter worth about $202,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

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.