Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $201,000 Stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 14.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 249.1% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 34,367 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,206,000 after purchasing an additional 24,523 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP acquired a new position in ALLETE during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Wolverine Asset Management LLC grew its stake in ALLETE by 30.0% in the third quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 44,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,865,000 after acquiring an additional 10,302 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 5.0% during the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 31,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,013,000 after acquiring an additional 1,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the third quarter worth approximately $205,000. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ALE. Sidoti upgraded shares of ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ALLETE in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $64.57 on Wednesday. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.71 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.64.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $407.20 million for the quarter. ALLETE had a net margin of 11.49% and a return on equity of 5.99%. ALLETE’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.49 earnings per share.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $0.705 dividend. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $2.82 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. ALLETE’s payout ratio is currently 90.38%.

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.