Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Lowers Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

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

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $257,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 22.3% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 53,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 9,780 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 78,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,827 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

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

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.55.

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.