Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Sells 1,812 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,355 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,812 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,185,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $2,656,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 224.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 468,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,052,000 after buying an additional 324,252 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 239.1% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 17,810 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 24.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 103,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 20,371 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth $790,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $50.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.80. The company has a market cap of $13.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.56. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. Alliant Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.38.

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.