Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 427,806 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 28,914 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $24,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.7 %

LNT stock opened at $63.58 on Monday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $47.23 and a 52 week high of $66.54. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

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.