Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Given New $53.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its target price trimmed by Scotiabank from $57.00 to $53.00 in a report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a sector outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on LNT. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays restated an equal weight rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $51.36.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

LNT opened at $49.89 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $48.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $45.15 and a 12-month high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alliant Energy

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of Alliant Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NBC Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $2,977,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 9.5% in the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 33,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,644,000 after buying an additional 2,947 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 239.1% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,260 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,296,000 after buying an additional 17,810 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 21.4% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 9,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after buying an additional 1,616 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 41,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,004,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.