Bank of Nova Scotia Lowers Stock Holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Bank of Nova Scotia decreased its position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,523 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,721 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $386,000. TIAA Trust National Association raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter worth $305,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 79,286 shares of the company's stock worth $5,102,000 after acquiring an additional 6,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 52.3% in the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 305,524 shares of the company's stock worth $19,660,000 after acquiring an additional 104,907 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LNT shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays downgraded Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued 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 upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.23.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,923,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,945. Alliant Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.17 and a twelve month high of $66.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $16.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $62.48 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.89.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $977.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

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.