Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 17.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,095 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $56,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AGF Management Ltd. grew its position in Alliant Energy by 384.8% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 46,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,391,000 after acquiring an additional 37,285 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 755,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,463,000 after purchasing an additional 13,770 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 43,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,226,000 after buying an additional 952 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted 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 worth $2,230,000 after buying an additional 1,887 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 145,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,404,000 after buying an additional 6,748 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $59.65 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $56.50 and a 200-day moving average of $52.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $45.15 and a 52 week high of $59.80.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LNT. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

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.