| Over a month ago | ||||
Allete's board of… Allete's board of directors has named President and Chief Executive Officer Bethany M. Owen chair of the Allete board of directors effective May 11, 2021. Owen has served as Allete's president since 2019 and chief executive officer since February 2020. "Bethany's inaugural year as CEO has been like no other. Under her exemplary leadership, ALLETE successfully navigated the pandemic and its economic impacts on customers, a shift to many employees working remotely, and the implementation of new health and safety employee protocols to ensure 24/7 delivery of essential energy services, all while enhancing the company's culture grounded in strong values," said Lead Director Heidi E. Jimmerson. | ||||
Q1 EPS was negatively… Q1 EPS was negatively impacted by the timing of income taxes and operating and maintenance expense in 2021 by approximately 15c per share, which are expected to reverse during the remainder of the year, as well as a 10c per share negative impact related to Allete Clean Energy's Diamond Spring wind energy facility due to an extreme winter storm event in the southern United States in February. Reports Q1 revenue $339.2M, consensus $324.3M. "While financial results were lower than our expectations for the quarter, reflecting timing and extreme weather impacts primarily in the southern region of ALLETE Clean Energy's operations, we remain confident in our earnings guidance of $3.00-$3.30 per share," said CEO Bethany Owen. | ||||
| Over a quarter ago | ||||
Mizuho analyst Paul… Mizuho analyst Paul Fremont raised the firm's price target on Allete to $62 from $55 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares. The analyst believes Allete's growth beyond 2022 relies on both a favorable outcome in the upcoming Minnesota power rate case to be finalized in the back half of 2022 and management's ability to maintain unregulated renewable segment growth despite no longer pursuing wind investment. | ||||
Reports Q4 revenue… Reports Q4 revenue $320.4M, consensus $300.65M. "Our thoughtful positioning in the early stage of the COVID-19 crisis delivered on expectations in 2020, no small feat. Even with notable impacts lingering from the pandemic, our financial results exceeded our updated guidance range of $3.25 to $3.45 per share, which includes the 16c per share charge related to the Minnesota Power rate case resolution," said CFO Bob Adams. "Although we expect continued impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, we remain keenly focused on delivering value to our investors and customers as we advance our clean energy strategy and positioning. This will set the stage for financial improvement and growth in 2022 as we execute on ALLETE's key initiatives planned for 2021, including ALLETE Clean Energy's growth initiatives and the Minnesota Power rate case filing later this year." | ||||
Allete Clean Energy, a… Allete Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allete (ALE), will repower and expand the Northern Wind site, consisting of the Chanarambie and Viking wind projects in southwest Minnesota, by replacing the existing turbines with new, more efficient equipment. When repowered in 2022, the project, totaling 120 megawatts of capacity, will be sold to Xcel Energy (XEL). The wind repowering project was spurred by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission's request for projects that could help the economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession by putting people to work and increasing the amount of renewable energy customers receive, while also reducing costs over the life of the project. Installing new wind turbines at existing wind sites can increase electricity production by more than 10%, saving customers money over the next 25 years. Adding new wind energy and repowering older wind sites will help Xcel Energy deliver on its plan to reduce carbon emissions by 80% by 2030, in pursuit of the company's vision to deliver 100% carbon-free electricity by 2050. | |
Allete's wholly… Allete's wholly owned subsidiary Allete Clean Energy signed renewable energy sale agreements with the Oshkosh Corporation and Hormel Foods for a combined 100 MW from its Caddo wind site under construction in Oklahoma. The 303 MW Caddo site, with renewable energy sale agreements with three investment-grade Fortune 500 customers, will double Allete Clean Energy's capacity to serve the accelerating corporate demand for clean energy. Caddo increases Allete Clean Energy's total operating, under construction and build-transfer wind energy projects to more than 1,450 MW of nameplate capacity. The Caddo site is expected to be operational by the end of 2021 and qualify for the safe harbor provision of federal renewable energy production tax credits. | |
On an annual basis the… On an annual basis the increased dividend is equivalent to $2.52 per share. The regular quarterly dividend is payable March 1 to common shareholders of record at the close of business Feb. 16. | |
Guggenheim analyst… Guggenheim analyst Shahriar Pourreza downgraded Allete to Neutral from Buy with a $66 price target. | |
ALLETE Clean Energy, a… ALLETE Clean Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, announced the start of commercial operations at its Diamond Spring wind site in southern Oklahoma. The output from the 303-megawatt Diamond Spring site is contracted to provide renewable energy to Walmart, Smithfield Foods and Starbucks though separate renewable energy sales agreements with 12-15 year terms. Diamond Spring is ALLETE Clean Energy's largest wind site, producing enough energy to power about 114,000 homes and increasing the company's total wind capacity to more than 1,000 megawatts. |