Whittier Trust Co. Raises Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 80.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,141 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $186,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,518,000 after buying an additional 14,225 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $257,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 53,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after buying an additional 9,780 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 78,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,749,000 after buying an additional 14,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LNT shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $63.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s fifty day moving average is $61.32 and its 200 day moving average is $60.54. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $47.23 and a 52 week high of $66.54. 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 (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.5075 dividend. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

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.