Jennison Associates LLC Purchases New Shares in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 544,897 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,225,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.21% of Alliant Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 517.0% during the fourth quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 517 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT opened at $59.24 on Wednesday. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $64.19. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.22. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.5075 dividend. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.39.

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.