USS Investment Management Ltd Lowers Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

USS Investment Management Ltd trimmed its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 59.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 31,515 shares of the company's stock after selling 46,198 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 9,113.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,187,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,640,000 after buying an additional 4,141,895 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,225,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,201,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,012,572 shares of the company's stock worth $414,724,000 after purchasing an additional 499,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $24,396,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays cut shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on Alliant Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $62.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,648,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,689,980. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $49.05 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.08. The stock has a market cap of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

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.