Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Bought by First Business Financial Services Inc.

First Business Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 332.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,614 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,000 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $923,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 13,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 3,807 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 74,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,013 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $3,085,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 59,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,495,000 after acquiring an additional 2,608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $388,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LNT shares. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $63.44 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 23.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $47.23 and a 12 month high of $66.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.12.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.46%.

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.