Allete (NYSE:ALE) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

Allete, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,123,537 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 142% from the previous session’s volume of 464,915 shares.The stock last traded at $67.20 and had previously closed at $66.72.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Allete in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Allete Trading Up 0.7%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Allete (NYSE:ALE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.24). Allete had a net margin of 11.98% and a return on equity of 5.71%. The firm had revenue of $360.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $425.30 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.82 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Allete Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Allete’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.11%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allete

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Allete by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 534 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Allete in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Allete by 44.5% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Allete by 3,456.3% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in Allete during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

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.