Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's Why

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on LNT shares. Barclays dropped 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 note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $60.25 and a 200-day moving average of $60.12. The stock has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.58, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This is an increase from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 75.46%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. RDA Financial Network boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 7,990 shares of the company's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 184 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 42,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,507,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the company's stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.