Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Receives $63.06 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.06.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $67.00 price objective on the stock. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 7.2% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,655 shares of the company's stock worth $441,000 after buying an additional 578 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 183.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 61,523 shares of the company's stock worth $3,132,000 after purchasing an additional 39,804 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.8% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,855 shares of the company's stock worth $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 3,956 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 12.3% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 48,679 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,478,000 after purchasing an additional 5,324 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 3.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 52,246 shares of the company's stock worth $2,659,000 after buying an additional 1,686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

LNT traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,251,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,024. 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's 50-day moving average is $60.77 and its 200-day moving average is $57.06. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $46.80 and a 1 year high of $64.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.53, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.59.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue 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 year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.