Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 4,843 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 105.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,452 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,843 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LNT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LNT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. 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. Barclays lowered shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock traded down $0.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.08. 1,694,166 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,707,502. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $49.40 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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. 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 previous year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Alliant Energy Company 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.