Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 65,110 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,691,172 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,110 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $648,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 11.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 37,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,271,000 after purchasing an additional 3,704 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $864,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $272,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at about $365,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 53.5% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 12,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $736,000 after acquiring an additional 4,226 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT opened at $62.28 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $60.62 and its 200-day moving average is $56.56. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.59. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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 was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LNT. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group boosted 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. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

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.