Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Receives $63.39 Average PT from Brokerages

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) has earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.39.

LNT has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 14.7% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,915,000 after buying an additional 25,161 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $4,742,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 9.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,839,000 after purchasing an additional 101,387 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 22.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 53,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after purchasing an additional 9,780 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $58.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $59.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy has a 12 month low of $46.80 and a 12 month high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. 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.