Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Sets New 1-Year High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Alliant Energy's share price reached a new 52-week high at $67.02, closing at $66.61, with a market capitalization of $17.07 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for Alliant Energy, with four analysts recommending a Buy, five a Hold, and one a Sell, while the consensus price target is $65.50.
• The company reported earnings of $0.68 per share, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5075 per share, translating to an annual yield of 3.1%.

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $67.02 and last traded at $66.61, with a volume of 174113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $66.02.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays lowered shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's fifty day moving average is $63.05 and its 200-day moving average is $62.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.150-3.25 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is 62.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 81.6% in the second quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 494 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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