Cibc World Markets Corp Buys 5,698 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Cibc World Markets Corp increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 40,490 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,698 shares during the quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of LNT stock opened at $63.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.49. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $47.23 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.25.

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.