Woodline Partners LP Takes $911,000 Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 15,410 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $911,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 382.5% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.6%

LNT stock traded up $0.38 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.23. 637,510 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,684,826. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $49.25 and a 12-month high of $66.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $61.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.13, 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 results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Wall Street Zen raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.95.

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.