RWC Asset Management LLP Decreases Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Key Points

• RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation by 34.3%, selling 36,400 shares and leaving it with 69,747 shares valued at approximately $4.49 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently entered the market for Alliant Energy, with about 79.90% of the stock now owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5075 per share, representing an annualized payout of $2.03 and a yield of 3.13%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 31.

RWC Asset Management LLP reduced its position in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 34.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,747 shares of the company's stock after selling 36,400 shares during the quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,488,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.6%

Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.89. The company had a trading volume of 682,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,502. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.98 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $61.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.58. The stock has a market cap of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNT has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $64.23.

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.