Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 44,911 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 37.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,499 shares of the company's stock after selling 44,911 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth $41,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on LNT. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays decreased 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. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LNT traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.75. 2,340,475 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,611,799. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.30. The stock has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.38, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $62.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.