Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Trims Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC reduced its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,553 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,166 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNT. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 10.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,579,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,205,000 after purchasing an additional 984,963 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after acquiring an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.7% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,756,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,408,000 after acquiring an additional 29,358 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 9.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,966 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,865,000 after purchasing an additional 116,399 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

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

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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LNT shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus 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.