John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Has $580,000 Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 34.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,300 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,000 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $580,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 117,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,714,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $427,000. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 11,488.8% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 371,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,235,000 after purchasing an additional 368,674 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,030,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,938,766,000 after purchasing an additional 342,340 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 67.2% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT stock opened at $49.82 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $12.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $48.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $49.47. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $45.15 and a 1-year high of $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. 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 3.85%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on LNT. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.21.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.