GAM Holding AG Takes $1.64 Million Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

GAM Holding AG bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 27,718 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,639,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. RDA Financial Network increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 7,990 shares of the company's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 6,433 shares of the company's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,744 shares of the company's stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 251 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note 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 for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.39.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

LNT stock traded up $1.19 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $62.81. 3,902,860 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,630,831. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $59.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 24.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. Alliant Energy Co. has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 3.23%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 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.