Alliant Energy Corporation $LNT Shares Sold by Grace & White Inc. NY

Key Points

• Grace & White Inc. NY cut its stake in Alliant Energy by 28.7% in Q4, selling 15,000 shares and now holds 37,262 shares valued at $2,422,000.
• Several large institutions boosted positions — Goldman Sachs added 538,603 shares to reach 1,084,562 and AQR Capital more than doubled its stake to 66,701 shares — contributing to institutional ownership of about 79.9%.
• Alliant Energy declared a quarterly dividend of $0.535 (annualized $2.14, yield 2.9%), with an ex-dividend date of April 30 and payment scheduled for May 15.

Grace & White Inc. NY lessened its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 28.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,262 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,000 shares during the period. Grace & White Inc. NY's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNT. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 103.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 66,701 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,292,000 after purchasing an additional 33,978 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 98.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,084,562 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,792,000 after buying an additional 538,603 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 18.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company's stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 974 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 6,269 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,256 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $72.77 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $71.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.67 and a 1-year high of $74.40. The company has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.61.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.57%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Sunday, February 22nd. Barclays set a $74.00 price objective on Alliant Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Finally, HSBC upgraded Alliant Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.22.

About Alliant Energy

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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