Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,430,000 shares, a decline of 13.4% from the February 28th total of 8,580,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days. Currently, 2.9% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.63. 224,945 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,560,769. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $47.23 and a 12-month high of $66.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $61.88 and its 200-day moving average is $60.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.59 billion, a PE ratio of 24.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 291 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 251.2% during the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Seven investment 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, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.55.

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.