Park Avenue Securities LLC Acquires New Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,915,000 after acquiring an additional 25,161 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,742,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,839,000 after purchasing an additional 101,387 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 53,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 9,780 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $58.77 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $46.80 and a 1 year high of $64.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.91. The company has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on LNT. Barclays dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.39.

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.