The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Reduces Stock Position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 9.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 498,659 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54,177 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $30,264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $41,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on LNT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 0.6 %

LNT stock opened at $63.20 on Friday. 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 $60.62 and a 200-day moving average of $56.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.05 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

Alliant Energy Company 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.