Short Interest in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Declines By 14.8%

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) saw a large decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,370,000 shares, a decrease of 14.8% from the March 31st total of 5,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LNT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America decreased their price target on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.71.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $49.80 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $48.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.55. Alliant Energy has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The company has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.91, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,194,528 shares of the company’s stock worth $471,679,000 after acquiring an additional 505,101 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,802,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,382,000 after buying an additional 1,948,485 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,651,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,325,000 after buying an additional 213,522 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 3,173,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,800,000 after buying an additional 67,550 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,491,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,795,000 after buying an additional 55,131 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

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.