Yahoo Finance ALLETE (ALE) Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates in Q4
ALLETE, Inc. ALE delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.18 per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.15 by 2.61%. Moreover, on a year-over-year basis, earnings were up by 45.7%.
In 2018, the company delivered adjusted earnings of $3.38 per share, in line with the year-ago figure.
Total Revenues
In the reported quarter, total revenues amounted to $448.3 million, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $413 million by 8.5%. Also, revenues rallied 32.6% from $337.9 million in the prior-year quarter.
In 2018, the company posted revenues of $1,498.6 million, up from $1,419.3 million in 2017.
Allete, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise
Allete, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Allete, Inc. Quote
Highlights of the Release
ALLETE’s total electricity sales volume slipped nearly 2.8% year over year to 3,670 million kilowatt-hours.
The company’s total operating expenses in the fourth quarter totaled $384.3 million, up 25.7% year over year.
Operating income in the quarter under review increased 98% to $64 million. Interest expenses fell 5.8% to $16.3 million.
Financial Update
ALLETE’s cash and cash equivalents as of Dec 31, 2018 were $69.1 million, down from $98.9 million as of Dec 31, 2017.
Long-term debt as of Dec 31, 2018 was $1,428.5 million, down from $1,439.2 million as of Dec 31, 2017.
Guidance
The company’ management guided 2019 EPS range of $3.50 to $3.80, whose mid-point of $3.65 is higher than the current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the period of $3.55.
Zacks Rank
ALLETE currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).
You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Other Utility Releases
NextEra Energy, Inc NEE delivered fourth-quarter 2018 adjusted earnings of $1.49 per share, which lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.51 by 1.3%.
American Electric Power Co., Inc AEP generated fourth-quarter 2018 operating EPS of 72 cents, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
Xcel Energy Inc XEL posted fourth-quarter 2018 operating earnings of 42 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.
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