Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Position Increased by Ellsworth Advisors LLC

Ellsworth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 77,892 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,861 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,996,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,977,000. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after purchasing an additional 2,947 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 21.4% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 41,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,004,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,809,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut shares of Alliant Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT traded up $0.63 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $50.40. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,540,569 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,950,445. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $48.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.55. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $45.15 and a fifty-two week high of $56.26.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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 was Tuesday, January 30th. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.06%.

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.