Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 64,314 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 87.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 137,813 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 64,314 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Alliant Energy worth $8,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth $95,000. Creative Planning grew its position in Alliant Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 66,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 3.0% in the third quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 8,744 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Net Worth Advisory Group bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $366,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNT has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.39.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $61.33 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $59.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.51. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $46.80 and a 12 month high of $64.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60. 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 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.68%.

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.