Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,872,409 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,640 shares during the quarter. Alliant Energy makes up 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.73% of Alliant Energy worth $120,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 382.5% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 212.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 743 shares during the period. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of 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 given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.1%

LNT stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Thursday, reaching $60.01. 1,178,331 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,712,806. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.98. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $49.57 and a 1 year high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

About Alliant Energy

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.