B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 78,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,742,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. City State Bank raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its position in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $62.25 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $62.49. The stock has a market cap of $15.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.