Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $66.54 and last traded at $64.26, with a volume of 2405048 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Guggenheim reiterated 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 boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Scotiabank cut shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 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. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.10.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 9,113.1% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,187,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141,895 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 92.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,363,000 after buying an additional 771,919 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,225,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,201,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Alliant Energy by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

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.