Analysts Set Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) PT at $63.39

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.39.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LNT. Barclays decreased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $58.20 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.09 and its 200 day moving average is $58.30. Alliant Energy has a 12 month low of $46.80 and a 12 month high of $64.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after buying an additional 1,245 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.4% in 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 in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 698.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,400,000 after purchasing an additional 394,920 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth $72,000. Finally, Arvest Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth $2,063,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.