Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Takes $479,000 Position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems grew its position in Alliant Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 42,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,507,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 5.9% during the first quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 211 shares during the period. Finally, RDA Financial Network raised its position in Alliant Energy by 2.9% in the first quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 8,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $529,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 1.7%

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $60.09 on Thursday. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $61.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $15.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 70.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.95.

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.