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

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five investment 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 brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $63.06.

A number of analysts have commented on LNT shares. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $60.98 on Friday. Alliant Energy has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $62.49. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $59.96 and a 200-day moving average of $55.65. The firm has a market cap of $15.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.05 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 75,164 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 58,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 5,771 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.8% in the third quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 60,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,692,000 after acquiring an additional 4,921 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 184.7% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 202,008 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,259,000 after acquiring an additional 131,053 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth $10,705,000. 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.