Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Cuts Stock Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 30.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,584 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,708 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,795,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,585,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $62.29 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.06. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $62.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $894.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.28.

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.