California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 7,530 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,174,628 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,530 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $69,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% during 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. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on LNT shares. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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 note on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $64.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $61.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.52 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $47.23 and a twelve month high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. Equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.5075 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Alliant Energy 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.