Barclays Cuts Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target to $59.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $61.00 to $59.00 in a report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on LNT. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of LNT stock traded up $1.51 on Wednesday, reaching $57.75. 2,340,475 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,611,799. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $59.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $14.82 billion, a PE ratio of 22.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $62.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 44.6% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 12,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $641,000 after purchasing an additional 3,925 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 37,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,915,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 105,233 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,304,000 after purchasing an additional 7,070 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 53,176 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,680,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.7% during the first quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 306 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is 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.