Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Sunday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on LNT. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Barclays set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $76.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut Alliant Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $76.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.82.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $69.37 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $73.81 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.98. Alliant Energy has a 1-year low of $63.28 and a 1-year high of $78.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $971.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $896.94 million. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 11.16%. Alliant Energy’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.360-3.460 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.43 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a $0.535 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNT. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 103.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 66,701 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,292,000 after buying an additional 33,978 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 98.7% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,084,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,792,000 after purchasing an additional 538,603 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 18.8% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,679 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,395,000 after buying an additional 6,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 23.5% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: LNT) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy’s core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.