Alliant Energy Corporation $LNT Shares Bought by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.4% in Q4, buying 167,581 shares to own 7,173,906 shares (about 2.79% of the company) valued at $466,376,000.
• Alliant Energy beat Q4 expectations with $0.60 EPS versus $0.58 consensus and reported revenue of $1.06 billion (vs. $673.11 million estimate), a 9% year‑over‑year increase.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.535 ($2.14 annualized, ~2.9% yield) and carries a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $75.44 price target, while institutional ownership stands near 79.9%.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,173,906 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 167,581 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.79% of Alliant Energy worth $466,376,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 865 shares in the last quarter. Apella Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 6,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 277.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 816 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $206,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $73.10 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $70.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.17. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $58.67 and a 12 month high of $74.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.61.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.11 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. Alliant Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LNT. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. HSBC upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.44.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation NASDAQ: LNT is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy's core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.

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