Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Now Covered by Royal Bank Of Canada

Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $82.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on LNT. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (up from $72.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised shares of Alliant Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $65.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, HSBC raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.33.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $70.81 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.09. The company has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.66. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $57.09 and a 1 year high of $72.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.57%.The business had revenue of $1.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.11 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were given a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 67.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Country Trust Bank purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 84.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 256.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 403 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: LNT) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy’s core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.