FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH Raises Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 29.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,488 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,936 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.3% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,802,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,485 shares in the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 289.7% during the third quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 976,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,302,000 after buying an additional 725,800 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 103.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,286,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,020,000 after buying an additional 654,460 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,194,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,679,000 after buying an additional 505,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 224.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 468,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,052,000 after acquiring an additional 324,252 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:LNT traded up $0.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $51.17. 447,430 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,761,781. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $50.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.78. The company has a market capitalization of $13.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.57.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.38.

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.