Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $58.50.

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT stock opened at $58.27 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 21.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $54.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.50. Alliant Energy has a fifty-two week low of $45.15 and a fifty-two week high of $58.69.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 69.82%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Scarborough Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 252.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 662 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 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.