Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,183,765 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 101,387 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Alliant Energy worth $71,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 12.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 251,586 shares of the company's stock worth $12,806,000 after buying an additional 27,619 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company's stock worth $2,879,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 6,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 15.5% in the 2nd quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC now owns 63,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 70,259 shares of the company's stock worth $3,576,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.
NASDAQ:LNT opened at $58.95 on Friday. 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's 50-day moving average is $60.72 and its 200-day moving average is $57.47. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $64.19. The company has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59.
Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.
Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho raised their target price on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.39.
Get Our Latest Report on LNT
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.
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