Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.38.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 11th.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $49.62 on Wednesday. Alliant Energy has a 12 month low of $45.15 and a 12 month high of $56.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.04, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $50.27 and its 200 day moving average is $49.85.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.53% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.82%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.