USS Investment Management Ltd Decreases Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 59.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,515 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,198 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 9,113.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,187,345 shares of the company's stock worth $247,640,000 after purchasing an additional 4,141,895 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $32,225,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $31,201,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,012,572 shares of the company's stock worth $414,724,000 after buying an additional 499,802 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $24,396,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:LNT traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $61.48. 159,999 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,683,833. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $49.05 and a 52 week high of $66.54. The firm's 50 day moving average is $61.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNT has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays lowered shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 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. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy 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.