Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Sells 2,397 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank decreased its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 67,140 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,397 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 588,744 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,731,000 after acquiring an additional 14,740 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 9.0% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,631 shares of the company’s stock worth $463,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 44,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.5% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LNT shares. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price 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, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $62.95 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $47.23 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. On average, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. 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. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 75.46%.

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.