ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) in a report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, Sidoti raised ALLETE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

ALLETE Trading Up 0.2 %

ALE opened at $65.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $64.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.02. ALLETE has a 1-year low of $55.86 and a 1-year high of $65.86. The company has a market cap of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.85 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. ALLETE’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.49 earnings per share.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ALLETE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 261.0% in the 3rd 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 valued at about $74,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ALLETE during the second quarter worth about $170,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP bought a new stake in ALLETE in 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.