Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 3,153 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp lessened its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 5.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,523 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,153 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut 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, April 29th. One equities research 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 stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Insider Transactions at Alliant Energy

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 purchased at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $50.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.56. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $45.15 and a 52 week high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. Alliant Energy’s revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.82%.

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.