Vestcor Inc Has $686,000 Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Key Points

• Vestcor Inc increased its position in Alliant Energy Corporation by 82.5% in Q1, acquiring a stake worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 4,819 shares.
• Alliant Energy reported Q1 earnings of $0.83 per share, exceeding analyst estimates of $0.71, and recorded revenue of $1.13 billion, up 9.4% from the previous year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5075, equating to a 3.1% yield, with a payout ratio of 70%.

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 82.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,663 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,819 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the first quarter worth $84,000. Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $88,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 10,375 shares of the company's stock valued at $668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Alliant Energy by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 25,251 shares of the company's stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 2,859 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT traded down $0.27 on Tuesday, reaching $66.07. 1,897,813 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,840,938. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company's 50 day moving average is $62.17 and its 200-day moving average is $61.76. Alliant Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.17 and a fifty-two week high of $66.62.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 18.26%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Alliant Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 70.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.