Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 42.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 77,050 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,478 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 acquiring an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC boosted its holdings 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 last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.68 on Friday, reaching $64.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,921,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,103. The company has a market capitalization of $16.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $59.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.96. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $46.80 and a 52 week high of $64.76. 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 (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LNT. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.25.

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.