Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $64.24 and last traded at $64.28, with a volume of 761245 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on LNT. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.85. The stock has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.46%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 14.7% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,915,000 after buying an additional 25,161 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,742,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 9.4% in the 3rd 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. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,518,000 after buying an additional 14,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.