Natixis Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,617 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,299 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $11,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $63.51 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $61.08 and its 200 day moving average is $60.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.61, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.23 and a fifty-two week high of $66.54.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.