Heritage Trust Co Buys New Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $473,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Accredited Investors Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 112,679 shares of the company's stock worth $6,664,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 111,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,841 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 1,167.5% in the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 155,200 shares of the company's stock worth $9,179,000 after purchasing an additional 142,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $20,677,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LNT. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

NASDAQ LNT traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.61. The stock had a trading volume of 798,646 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,826. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $47.62 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $62.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. On average, research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

About Alliant Energy

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.