Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Trims Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lowered its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 35.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,228 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,782 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $841,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.39.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Thursday, hitting $61.62. 3,246,987 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,561,981. The firm's fifty day moving average is $59.37 and its 200-day moving average is $59.59. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $46.80 and a 52 week high of $64.19. 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is presently 78.68%.

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.