Alliant Energy Corporation is close to home.
Utilities can be useful for retirement income. Some utilities, like Alliant, have business interests beyond the traditional utility. If you read the “Business Profile” below you will see what I mean. Of course, the core of LNT is electricity and gas operations. If you drive by windfarms, think green profits.
A Dividend Growth Story
LNT currently has a dividend yield of 3.23% and a dividend payout ratio of 66.22%. Both of these values fit my requirements for a utility sector investment. In addition, LNT has a 17-year record of increasing dividends, and a 5-year growth rate of 6.68%. However, LNT is not a growth investment. It is a larger than average mid-cap company. However, before you buy shares of LNT, you might also want to consider OTTR (Otter Tail Corporation). Otter is a Minnesota-based business and, together with its subsidiaries, engages in electric, manufacturing, and plastics businesses in the United States. However, OTTR does not have the same dividend profile as LNT.
Business Profile
Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the Midwest region of the United States. It operates through 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. Alliant Energy Corporation, through its other subsidiary, Wisconsin Power and Light Company (WPL), generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Wisconsin; and sells electricity to wholesale customers in Wisconsin.
In addition, the company holds investments in various businesses, which provide freight services through a short-line railway between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, Iowa; a barge terminal and hauling services on the Mississippi River; customized supply chain solutions; freight and logistics brokering services; and other transfer and storage services. Further, it owns a 347 megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired electric generating unit near Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin; and a 225 MW wind farm located in Oklahoma. Alliant Energy Corporation was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin.
Full Disclosure
Cindie and I own a combined total of 250 LNT shares.
Investor Link for LNT
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