Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Given Average Rating of "Hold" by Analysts

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Hold" by the ten brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $63.55.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. UBS Group increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the third quarter worth $602,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $2,063,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 698.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,400,000 after purchasing an additional 394,920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company's stock valued at $71,839,000 after buying an additional 101,387 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.80. 2,462,916 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,599,069. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.82. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $49.05 and a one year high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The company had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $2.03 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.34%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

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.