Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.95.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Barclays downgraded Alliant Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $60.48 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $49.25 and a one year high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.62 EPS. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 70.00%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $213,000. Korea Investment CORP raised its position in Alliant Energy by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 190,875 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,288,000 after buying an additional 73,101 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Alliant Energy by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 4,684 shares of the company’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in Alliant Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

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.