M&T Bank Corp Cuts Stock Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 54,094 shares of the company’s stock after selling 582 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,776,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LNT. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective 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. Bank of America reduced 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 note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

LNT stock opened at $51.21 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.59. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.