IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $4.07 Million Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,805 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,640 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LNT. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,977,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Alliant Energy by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares in the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,656,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 239.1% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after acquiring an additional 17,810 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 1,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:LNT traded down $0.64 on Friday, hitting $49.59. The stock had a trading volume of 1,661,302 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,451,337. The stock has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $56.26.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.87%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LNT. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.