Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Acquired by Sterling Capital Management LLC

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 55.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,187 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 5,418 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $898,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays downgraded Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ LNT traded up $1.74 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.03. 2,164,170 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,602,789. The company's 50-day moving average is $62.36 and its 200-day moving average is $60.82. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $49.05 and a 52-week high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.