Short Interest in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Increases By 16.1%

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,080,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the November 15th total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $59.88 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.80 and a fifty-two week high of $64.19. 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 has a market cap of $15.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $60.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.35.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.39.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,847,000 after acquiring an additional 65,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,880,000 after purchasing an additional 92,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,260,000 after purchasing an additional 512,429 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,756,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,408,000 after acquiring an additional 29,358 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.