MML Investors Services LLC Cuts Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

MML Investors Services LLC cut its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 935 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in Alliant Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,585,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of LNT opened at $58.95 on Monday. Alliant Energy Co. has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $64.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $60.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. Alliant Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.39.

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.