Pacer Advisors Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Pacer Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 33.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,359 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,551 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Barclays cut shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.23.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $65.47. 1,626,943 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,762,383. The company has a market capitalization of $16.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $62.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.69. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.17 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 18.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.62 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.