NorthRock Partners LLC Invests $397,000 in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,707 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $397,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LNT. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $257,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $213,000. Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 190,875 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,288,000 after purchasing an additional 73,101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 2,024.4% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 4,312 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of LNT stock opened at $62.48 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 company has a market cap of $16.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $61.67 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.86. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $49.05 and a 1-year high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Barclays lowered Alliant Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

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.