Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Acquires 72,748 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,076,660 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 72,748 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 1.59% of Alliant Energy worth $241,094,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,663,708 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,931,732,000 after purchasing an additional 226,275 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,847,000 after buying an additional 65,110 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,880,000 after buying an additional 92,525 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,252,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $133,237,000 after acquiring an additional 36,438 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its position in Alliant Energy by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,056,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $121,594,000 after acquiring an additional 168,995 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $63.12 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.63.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued 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. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 75.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.55.

Alliant Energy 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.