Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 91,651 Shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 82.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,982 shares of the company's stock after selling 91,651 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. National Pension Service bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,531,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 30,632 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,105 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,085,000. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,532 shares of the company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ LNT traded down $0.60 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.76. 1,607,610 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,715,994. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $50.76 and a 12-month high of $66.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LNT shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.95.

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.