ING Groep NV Acquires Shares of 9,773 Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,773 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $578,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 628 shares during the period. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of LNT opened at $63.85 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $64.19. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.76. The firm 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Alliant Energy

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.