Point72 Asset Management L.P. Cuts Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. cut its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 504,451 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,099,821 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.20% of Alliant Energy worth $29,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 382.5% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNT shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Alliant Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

LNT stock traded up $0.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.16. The stock had a trading volume of 2,548,788 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,677,409. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $49.05 and a twelve month high of $66.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.92.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. Alliant Energy's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.62 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

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.