Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation by 0.5%, now owning about 12.78% of the company, valued at approximately $2.11 billion.
• Alliant Energy reported $0.68 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate by $0.06, though its revenue of $961 million fell short of expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5075, with a dividend yield of 3.1%, indicating a payout ratio of 70%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 0.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,822,215 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 158,507 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.78% of Alliant Energy worth $2,112,110,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 12.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 9,993 shares of the company's stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 71,787 shares of the company's stock worth $4,620,000 after acquiring an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter worth $386,000. TIAA Trust National Association increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 84.0% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 8,493 shares of the company's stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 3,876 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter worth $305,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research upgraded Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on Alliant Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.59.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of LNT traded up $0.57 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,217,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,974,439. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $62.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.98 and a 1 year high of $66.76.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 20.07%. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 62.65%.

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.