Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 52,162 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,085,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company's stock worth $648,847,000 after purchasing an additional 65,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company's stock worth $398,880,000 after purchasing an additional 92,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company's stock worth $395,260,000 after purchasing an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company's stock worth $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 92.7% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company's stock worth $97,363,000 after purchasing an additional 771,919 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

LNT traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.49. 3,130,567 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,830,038. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.23 and a fifty-two week high of $66.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on LNT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of 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 research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy 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.