Moors & Cabot Inc. Raises Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,975 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,077 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 51,259 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 32,166 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,248,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 14.7% during 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 period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,839,000 after acquiring an additional 101,387 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $63.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.10. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $63.63. The company has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LNT shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

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.