Cozad Asset Management Inc. Sells 3,713 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,713 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,631,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 604.0% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after buying an additional 62,431 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,877,000 after acquiring an additional 144,077 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 36.3% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 70,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 105.5% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 33,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,672,000 after purchasing an additional 17,030 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 28.9% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 9,977 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $56.24 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $62.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $59.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LNT. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.06.

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.