Benjamin Edwards Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 60,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,473 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,094,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 10.0% during the second quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 80,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,076,000 after buying an additional 7,303 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $269,000. XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 44.2% in the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 6,176 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 1,892 shares in the last quarter. MRP Capital Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,248,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $59.75 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $60.67. The company has a market capitalization of $15.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $57.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $59.56.

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.