Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.06.

LNT has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the second quarter valued at $41,000. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of LNT opened at $63.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $60.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.07. 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 twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $63.63.

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

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 74.42%.

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.