Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $50.71.

Several research firms have commented on LNT. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $49.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $48.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $49.55. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $45.15 and a 1 year high of $56.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Insider Activity at Alliant Energy

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of Alliant Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $48.56 per share, for a total transaction of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 48.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 14,411 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 96,950 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,697,000 after buying an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 34,671 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 1,130 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 64,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,131,000 after acquiring an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.