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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $57.67 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $45.15 and a one year high of $58.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.47 and a 200-day moving average of $50.87. The company has a market capitalization of $14.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. Alliant Energy’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.4% in the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.