Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Takes $206,000 Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 4,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,977,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 9.5% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,616 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,809,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alliant Energy

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of Alliant Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $49.82 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.55. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.48.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LNT. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.21.

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.