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

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,080,000 shares, an increase of 16.1% from the November 15th total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,550,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Barclays cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.39.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 7.2% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,585,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of LNT stock opened at $60.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $60.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.23. Alliant Energy has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $64.19. The company has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.18%. The ex-dividend date 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.