Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) Receives $76.44 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.4444.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $79.00 price target (up from $78.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Friday, April 17th. HSBC upgraded Alliant Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho boosted their target price on Alliant Energy from $73.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $76.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Alliant Energy by 799.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,393,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $545,662,000 after purchasing an additional 7,460,117 shares during the period. Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its position in Alliant Energy by 802.8% in the third quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,553,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,735,000 after purchasing an additional 1,381,593 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at about $82,265,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 71.8% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,057,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,752,000 after purchasing an additional 1,278,166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 41.7% during the fourth quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,614,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063,268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of LNT opened at $72.42 on Friday. Alliant Energy has a fifty-two week low of $58.97 and a fifty-two week high of $74.40. The company’s fifty day moving average is $71.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.60. The firm has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $673.11 million. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 18.57%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.70 EPS. Analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th will be given a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.94%.

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.