3,429 Shares in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Purchased by Accredited Investors Inc.

Accredited Investors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 14.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,915,000 after acquiring an additional 25,161 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.5% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 44,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after buying an additional 2,894 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LNT. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.5 %

Alliant Energy stock opened at $60.98 on Monday. Alliant Energy Co. has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $62.49. The stock has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $59.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.73.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Alliant Energy’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.