Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 9.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 498,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,177 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.19% of Alliant Energy worth $30,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,367,000. Eagle Ridge Investment Management purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $26,804,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 2,141.3% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 180,402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,182,000 after purchasing an additional 172,353 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $63.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $46.80 and a 52 week high of $64.19. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LNT. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.06.

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.