Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,220,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the July 15th total of 5,880,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,470,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.4% during the 4th quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 252.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of LNT stock opened at $57.67 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $58.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $53.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $50.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.56.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $894.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $56.36.

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.