Natixis Advisors L.P. Reduces Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Natixis Advisors L.P. reduced its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,257 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,251 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. owned approximately 0.09% of Alliant Energy worth $11,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $51.13 on Wednesday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $45.15 and a 12-month high of $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The company has a market cap of $13.11 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $49.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.57.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LNT. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.38.

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.