State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 40,694 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 327,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,654,000 after purchasing an additional 1,321 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 384.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 46,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after buying an additional 37,285 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 755,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,463,000 after buying an additional 13,770 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,226,000 after buying an additional 952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 43,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,230,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

LNT opened at $60.51 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.35. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $45.15 and a 12-month high of $60.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.00, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Alliant Energy’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

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.