ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 20,691 Shares of Alliant Energy Corporation $LNT

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) by 31.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 45,636 shares of the company’s stock after selling 20,691 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,303,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,013,875,000 after acquiring an additional 481,487 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,082,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $428,252,000 after purchasing an additional 384,204 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,368,752 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,238,000 after purchasing an additional 149,679 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,291,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,575,000 after purchasing an additional 21,036 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the second quarter valued at $82,265,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on LNT shares. UBS Group set a $75.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. HSBC upgraded Alliant Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.13.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.2%

Alliant Energy stock opened at $71.19 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $57.09 and a 1 year high of $71.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $66.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.35.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.30%.

Alliant Energy Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: LNT) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy’s core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.