Uncommon Cents Investing LLC Trims Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Uncommon Cents Investing LLC lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,554 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,574 shares during the quarter. Uncommon Cents Investing LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 95.3% in the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Alliant Energy

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets downgraded Alliant Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, January 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $54.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.63 on Thursday, reaching $50.40. 2,540,569 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,044,555. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $49.62. The stock has a market cap of $12.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

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.