Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Grows Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership increased its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,002,764 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership owned about 0.39% of Alliant Energy worth $59,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. RDA Financial Network increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 7,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $473,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,937 shares of the company’s stock valued at $942,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. City State Bank lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,231,000 after buying an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Asset Strategies Inc. grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 59,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,534,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT opened at $63.12 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $47.23 and a twelve month high of $66.54. The stock has a market cap of $16.20 billion, a PE ratio of 23.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.67 and its 200-day moving average is $60.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. On average, analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 75.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LNT. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

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.