Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) by 3.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,872,409 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,640 shares during the quarter. Alliant Energy comprises 1.2% of Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $120,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 291 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 382.5% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 723 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 212.9% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 1,092 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 743 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Graney & King LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $70,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on LNT. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $60.01 on Thursday. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $49.57 and a 12-month high of $66.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $61.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.00%.

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.