Northwest Investment Counselors LLC Buys New Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $41,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 363.4% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,301 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $61.04 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.44. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $62.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Alliant Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock 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.