KBC Group NV Sells 5,435 Shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

KBC Group NV trimmed its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 24.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,462 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,435 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the period. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 382.5% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company's stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNT. UBS Group increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Barclays downgraded Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of LNT traded up $0.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $61.68. The stock had a trading volume of 1,893,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,462. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.56. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $51.23 and a 1-year high of $66.54.

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

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.