National Pension Service Decreases Stock Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service drastically reduced its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation by 99.8% in the first quarter, leaving it with only 937 shares valued at approximately $60,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on Alliant Energy, with one rating it as a "sell," six as "hold," and four as "buy," leading to an average rating of "Hold" and a price target of $65.50.
• Alliant Energy recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.68, exceeding analysts' expectations, while also declaring a quarterly dividend with a yield of 3.1%.

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 99.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 937 shares of the company's stock after selling 380,047 shares during the period. National Pension Service's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the first quarter worth $34,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter worth $34,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. One equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $65.50.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LNT opened at $64.62 on Friday. Alliant Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $56.08 and a twelve month high of $66.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.12.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 20.07%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.15 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is currently 62.65%.

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.

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