Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 10.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $224,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 95.3% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth about $30,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth $42,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LNT shares. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lowered Alliant Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $54.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.45 during trading on Thursday, reaching $50.22. 1,153,893 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,020,186. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $48.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $12.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 69.06%.

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.