Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Alliant Energy has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen.
• While Wall Street Zen issued a sell rating, other analysts have provided mixed ratings, including upgrades by Wolfe Research and Bank of America, indicating a wide range of opinions on the stock's performance.
• Alliant Energy's recent quarterly earnings exceeded analysts' expectations despite lower revenue than anticipated, showing a net margin of 20.07% and setting FY 2025 EPS guidance at 3.150-3.25.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

LNT has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $66.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, July 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT traded up $0.39 on Friday, hitting $64.17. 2,539,593 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,548,991. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.83 and a 200-day moving average of $62.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.54. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $56.08 and a 12-month high of $67.11.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.15 million. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.25% and a net margin of 20.07%.The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 22.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 114,428 shares of the company's stock worth $6,923,000 after acquiring an additional 21,274 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,896 shares of the company's stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its stake in Alliant Energy by 12.3% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 82,219 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,972,000 after acquiring an additional 8,994 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 35.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 406,285 shares of the company's stock worth $24,568,000 after purchasing an additional 107,072 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,475 shares of the company's stock worth $89,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by 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.