Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Sells 689 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 689 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $596,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 54,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,325,000 after acquiring an additional 4,405 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after acquiring an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT opened at $63.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $47.23 and a 52-week high of $66.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $61.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.53.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered shares of 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

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.