Alliant Energy Corporation (LNT)Hedge Funds Are Snapping Up

The 700+ hedge funds and money managers tracked by Insider Monkey have already compiled and submitted their 13F filings for the third quarter, which unveil their equity positions as of September 30. We went through these filings, fixed typos and other more significant errors and identified the changes in hedge fund positions. Our extensive review of these public filings is finally over, so this article is set to reveal the smart money sentiment towards Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT).

Alliant Energy Corporation investors should pay attention to an increase in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity, but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN), Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE), and Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT) to gather more data points.

To most traders, hedge funds are seen as unimportant, old financial vehicles of years past. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation today, Our researchers choose to focus on the aristocrats of this club, approximately 700 funds. These money managers administer most of all hedge funds’ total capital, and by tailing their unrivaled stock picks, Insider Monkey has identified numerous investment strategies that have historically defeated the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy surpassed the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points per year for a decade in their back tests.

With all of this in mind, let’s review the latest action encompassing Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT).

Hedge fund activity in Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT)

At Q3’s end, a total of 17 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were bullish on this stock, a rise of 21% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists a select group of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes substantially (or already accumulated large positions).

Of the funds tracked by Insider Monkey, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management has the biggest position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT), worth close to $39 million, corresponding to 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. On AQR Capital Management’s heels is Millennium Management, led by Israel Englander, holding a $13.4 million position; less than 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Remaining hedge funds and institutional investors that are bullish, encompass Jonathan Barrett and Paul Segal’s Luminus Management, Ken Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group and D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.

As aggregate interest increased, key hedge funds were breaking ground themselves. Luminus Management, managed by Jonathan Barrett and Paul Segal, initiated the biggest position in Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT). The fund had $7.4 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Ken Gray and Steve Walsh’s Bryn Mawr Capital also initiated a $3.8 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new LNT investors: David Costen Haley’s HBK Investments, Gavin Saitowitz and Cisco J. del Valle’s Springbok Capital, and Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners.

Let’s also examine hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT) but similarly valued. These stocks are AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN), Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE), Weatherford International Ltd (NYSE:WFT), and Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR). This group of stocks’ market caps are similar to LNT’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 24 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $571 million. That figure was $84 million in LNT’s case. AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Duke Realty Corp (NYSE:DRE) is the least popular one with only 12 bullish hedge fund positions. Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE:LNT) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard AN might be a better candidate to consider a long position.