Sigma Planning Corp Sells 1,063 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Sigma Planning Corp decreased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,287 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,063 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $220,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,689,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,003,000 after purchasing an additional 278,406 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,325,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,685,000 after buying an additional 105,723 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,055,089 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,569,000 after buying an additional 41,291 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,600,872 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,562,000 after acquiring an additional 17,521 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.0% in the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,343,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,099,000 after acquiring an additional 52,184 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on LNT shares. Scotiabank cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $49.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 2.65 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.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 69.06%.

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 that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.