Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 1,887 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,820 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,887 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,230,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 145,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,404,000 after buying an additional 6,748 shares in the last quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 5,687 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 8,237 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Morton Community Bank lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Morton Community Bank now owns 61,458 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,128,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $59.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $56.50 and its 200-day moving average is $52.20. The company has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $59.80.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.