Brokerages Set Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Target Price at $54.06

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $54.06.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LNT shares. Barclays reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut Alliant Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, January 11th.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $48.85 on Friday. Alliant Energy has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $48.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $49.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The firm had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton bought 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Financial Freedom LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Clear Street Markets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 95.3% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.4% during the fourth quarter. Gables Capital Management Inc. now owns 522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 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.