Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Dividend Announcement

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after the company announced a dividend. The company traded as high as $61.22 and last traded at $61.20, with a volume of 123833 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.38.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNT has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.83.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

The company has a market cap of $15.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $58.86 and its 200-day moving average is $54.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $897.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.05 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. City State Bank increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,621,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,119,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,879,000 after buying an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased 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 buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

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.