Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 21,371 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,675,299 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,371 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.43% of Alliant Energy worth $221,915,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LNT. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.39.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $60.45 on Friday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $46.80 and a 12 month high of $64.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $57.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 23.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Alliant Energy 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.