Benjamin Edwards Inc. Trims Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 787 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 210 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 79,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,061,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 5,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 10,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $512,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 4,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $238,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.46. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 750,115 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,906,363. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $48.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.55. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $45.15 and a 52 week high of $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $12.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LNT. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.71.

Insider Activity at Alliant Energy

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.