Nicholas Company Inc. Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Corporation $LNT

Key Points

• Nicholas Company Inc. opened a new position in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter, buying 88,235 shares valued at about $5.74 million.
• Institutional ownership in Alliant Energy remains high, with 79.90% of the stock held by institutional investors, and several other funds also recently added stakes.
• Analysts are broadly positive on the stock: Alliant Energy has a Moderate Buy consensus rating with a $76.60 average price target, while the company also reported earnings that matched estimates and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.535 per share.

Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 88,235 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,736,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $35,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 256.7% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 560 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the second quarter worth about $46,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Mizuho set a $76.00 price target on Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $76.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a "strong sell" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Barclays set a $74.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Alliant Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.60.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $71.76 on Monday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $71.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.79. Alliant Energy Corporation has a one year low of $58.97 and a one year high of $75.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.50, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.82. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 18.58%.The business had revenue of $1.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.360-3.460 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.08%.

Alliant Energy Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation NASDAQ: LNT is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy's core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.

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