Voya Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Voya Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,584 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,742 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $213,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 190,875 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,288,000 after purchasing an additional 73,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 2,024.4% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNT. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on 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. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,318,950 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,600,136. The business's fifty day moving average price is $62.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.87. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $49.05 and a twelve month high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.