Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Reduces Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,376 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,575 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 289.7% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 976,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,302,000 after purchasing an additional 725,800 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 3,199.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 728,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,283,000 after buying an additional 706,162 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,194,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,679,000 after buying an additional 505,101 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Alliant Energy by 224.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 468,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,052,000 after buying an additional 324,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in Alliant Energy by 1,001.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 239,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,626,000 after buying an additional 218,158 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.38.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $52.12 on Wednesday. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $49.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.74.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

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.