8,876 Shares in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Bought by Contravisory Investment Management Inc.

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $571,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 32,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,072,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 105.1% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,452 shares of the company's stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares in the last quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 14.6% during the first quarter. Hummer Financial Advisory Services Inc now owns 4,700 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.9% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 58,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,793,000 after acquiring an additional 3,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 546,110 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,142,000 after purchasing an additional 19,322 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $60.32. 1,793,536 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,696,733. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $49.25 and a fifty-two week high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 70.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

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.