Ascent Wealth Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,778 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $1,525,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of LNT stock opened at $62.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.35, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.68. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. 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. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LNT shares. Barclays dropped their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.39.

About Alliant Energy

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.