ING Groep NV Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

ING Groep NV bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 9,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $63.85 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $64.19. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.52 and a 200 day moving average of $59.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a market capitalization of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.25.

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.