Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 22.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 53,600 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,780 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

LNT opened at $63.59 on Thursday. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $64.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $60.47 and a 200-day moving average of $56.36. The company has a market capitalization of $16.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.