RWC Asset Management LLP Makes New Investment in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

RWC Asset Management LLP acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 106,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,278,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,847,000 after buying an additional 65,110 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,880,000 after acquiring an additional 92,525 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 92.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,363,000 after purchasing an additional 771,919 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.9 %

LNT stock opened at $62.81 on Monday. Alliant Energy Co. has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $64.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.44 and a 200-day moving average of $59.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.39.

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.