Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Stock Holdings Increased by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 31,450 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 14.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,915,000 after purchasing an additional 25,161 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at about $4,742,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,839,000 after buying an additional 101,387 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,518,000 after acquiring an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 78,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,827 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $60.55 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.47, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $46.80 and a 52 week high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly 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. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Alliant Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.39.

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.