Analysts Set Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Target Price at $63.39

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.25.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LNT. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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. Barclays decreased 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 report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $64.53 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $64.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.93.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 75.46%.

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.