Merit Financial Group LLC Buys 4,843 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 105.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 9,452 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 382.5% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $60.48 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $49.25 and a 12 month high of $66.54. The firm has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.08.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.62 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 70.00%.

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.