Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 299,534 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,235 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Alliant Energy worth $15,366,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 289.7% in the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 976,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,302,000 after buying an additional 725,800 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 3,199.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 728,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,283,000 after purchasing an additional 706,162 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 3.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,689,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,003,000 after purchasing an additional 278,406 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 1,001.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 239,953 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,626,000 after purchasing an additional 218,158 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $8,659,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.36.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNT traded down $0.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $49.59. 1,661,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,918,577. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $49.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The company has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.46 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alliant Energy

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Alliant Energy

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.