Ames National Corp Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Ames National Corp bought a new position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 5,742 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 31.8% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 6,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. Weitzel Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Weitzel Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,000 after acquiring an additional 869 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $911,000. Sourcerock Group LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,161,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $579,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $63.16 on Wednesday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $49.05 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.93. The company has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LNT. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $71.00 in a report on Tuesday. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays cut Alliant Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.95.

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.