State of Michigan Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $4,120,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 517.0% in the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 251.2% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT opened at $62.49 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.14. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $47.23 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $976.00 million for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Company 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.