Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 52,322 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 594,436 shares of the company’s stock after selling 52,322 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $30,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $361,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 111.5% during the fourth quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 299,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,366,000 after buying an additional 3,235 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 34,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after buying an additional 6,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 29.5% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 51,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,630,000 after buying an additional 11,687 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LNT. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.71.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

LNT opened at $49.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $48.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $49.55. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.46 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.06%.

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.