New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 107,736 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $6,372,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. RDA Financial Network increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 7,990 shares of the company’s stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $942,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.0% during the third quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,231,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT opened at $63.98 on Thursday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $64.19. The stock has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.72 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.85.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. As a group, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.25.

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.