First Citizens Financial Corp Purchases New Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

First Citizens Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 604.0% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 62,431 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,877,000 after acquiring an additional 144,077 shares during the period. Cibc World Markets Corp raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 134.9% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 32,771 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after purchasing an additional 18,822 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 36.3% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 70,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $2,199,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

LNT stock opened at $60.57 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.34. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $46.31 and a 12 month high of $61.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LNT shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.17.

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.