Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Stock Rating Lowered by Barclays

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) was downgraded by analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They presently have a $61.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of $59.00. Barclays‘s price objective points to a potential downside of 0.38% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $61.23 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $49.05 and a 12-month high of $66.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.73 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $602,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,063,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $72,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 698.3% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,400,000 after acquiring an additional 394,920 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,839,000 after acquiring an additional 101,387 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.