Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation by 52.0%, selling 143,090 shares and holding 131,950 shares valued at approximately $8.49 million as of the first quarter.
• Several other hedge funds also initiated positions in Alliant Energy during the first quarter, contributing to a total institutional ownership of 79.90%.
• Alliant Energy reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.83, exceeding estimates, along with a planned dividend payout of $0.5075 per share.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 52.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 131,950 shares of the company's stock after selling 143,090 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned approximately 0.05% of Alliant Energy worth $8,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets dropped 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One research 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 MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.23.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.64. The stock had a trading volume of 1,923,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,818,945. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53. Alliant Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $55.17 and a twelve month high of $66.76. The stock's 50 day moving average is $62.48 and its 200 day moving average is $61.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 20.07%. The firm had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $977.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Alliant Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.