Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Stock Position Lowered by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,170 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $8,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $50.85 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $45.15 and a 1-year high of $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a market capitalization of $13.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.71.

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.