Analysts Set Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) PT at $60.17

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $60.17.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LNT shares. Barclays increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. City State Bank raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.3% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in Alliant Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,426 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,585,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 13.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT stock opened at $60.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $57.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $60.86.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.06 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

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.