Rafferty Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation $LNT

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation by 19.9%, selling 5,720 shares and taking its total to 23,092 shares, valued at approximately $1.49 million.
• Alliant Energy reported a 0.68 EPS for the last quarter, surpassing estimates, while its revenue rose 7.5% year-over-year, totaling $961 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5075, giving an annual yield of 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 62.65% as of its latest filing.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 19.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,092 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,720 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at $82,496,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 6,869.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,114,027 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,688,000 after buying an additional 1,098,043 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $34,210,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,396,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $19,853,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.52. 1,600,792 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,918,804. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.54. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $64.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.61. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $56.08 and a 52-week high of $67.11.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.15 million. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on LNT shares. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 price objective (up previously from $66.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Alliant Energy 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.