Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,122,637 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,548 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.83% of Alliant Energy worth $108,891,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank lowered their target price on 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 6th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their price target on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT stock opened at $51.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $45.15 and a 12-month high of $56.26.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.82%.

Alliant Energy Company 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.