New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 157,882 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,170 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.06% of Alliant Energy worth $8,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,689,427 shares of the company's stock worth $421,003,000 after purchasing an additional 278,406 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Alliant Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,325,792 shares of the company's stock valued at $112,685,000 after acquiring an additional 105,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,055,089 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,569,000 after acquiring an additional 41,291 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,600,872 shares of the company's stock worth $77,562,000 after acquiring an additional 17,521 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,343,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,099,000 after purchasing an additional 52,184 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Alliant Energy

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock remained flat at $50.85 on Friday. 2,143,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,923,734. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.15 and a fifty-two week high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNT. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $50.71.

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.