Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Bought by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2,451.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 57,812 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,546 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 604.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,668,000 after purchasing an additional 62,431 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth $2,656,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Alliant Energy by 224.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 468,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,052,000 after buying an additional 324,252 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 239.1% during the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 17,810 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 103,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,309,000 after buying an additional 20,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH decreased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $56.26. The company had a trading volume of 402,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,722,414. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.04. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $45.15 and a 12 month high of $56.79. The firm has a market cap of $14.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.56.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 10.57%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

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.