Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 349,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,677,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.14% of Alliant Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth $7,979,000. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,697 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,257 shares of the company's stock worth $1,789,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $300,000. Finally, Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,011,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on LNT. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $61.33. 274,489 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,601,539. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $49.05 and a 12 month high of $66.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $62.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52. 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 (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

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.