Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,810 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,227 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $935,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Czech National Bank raised its position in Alliant Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,290,000 after purchasing an additional 3,385 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,036 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Alliant Energy by 2,007.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 146,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,668,000 after purchasing an additional 139,616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $60.46 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $61.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.84. The company has a market capitalization of $15.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $49.05 and a 52-week high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Alliant Energy

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.

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