Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 5.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,379 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,038 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Alliant Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,194,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,679,000 after acquiring an additional 505,101 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,802,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,382,000 after buying an additional 1,948,485 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,651,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,325,000 after buying an additional 213,522 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 3,173,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,800,000 after buying an additional 67,550 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,491,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,795,000 after acquiring an additional 55,131 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

LNT stock traded down $0.13 on Monday, reaching $55.88. The company had a trading volume of 310,229 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,717,248. The company’s fifty day moving average is $51.67 and its 200 day moving average is $50.07. The company has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.56. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $56.79.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

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.