Empirical Finance LLC Buys 189 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,637 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on LNT. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Mizuho upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $60.98 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.96 and a 200-day moving average of $55.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $62.49. The firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.