Gabelli Funds LLC Purchases 46,300 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Gabelli Funds LLC increased its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 18.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 296,645 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 46,300 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned about 0.12% of Alliant Energy worth $15,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $65,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $60.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $45.15 and a 1-year high of $60.67.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on LNT shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a 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 research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.17.

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.