Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Stake Boosted by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 172.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,955 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,529 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,358,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ LNT traded up $1.24 on Thursday, hitting $61.71. 2,766,861 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,659,805. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.84. The company has a market capitalization of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $49.05 and a 52-week high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Alliant Energy's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.