Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $64.19 and last traded at $63.63, with a volume of 2362816 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.32.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNT has been the subject of several analyst reports. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target for the company. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.22.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. Alliant Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued 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 yield of 3.02%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,847,000 after acquiring an additional 65,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,880,000 after purchasing an additional 92,525 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,260,000 after purchasing an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after buying an additional 14,225 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,756,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,408,000 after buying an additional 29,358 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.