Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Stock Rating Upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $71.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 12.54% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on LNT. Barclays cut shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.95.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.0%

NASDAQ:LNT opened at $63.09 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $49.05 and a 1 year high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $61.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.09 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,682 shares of the company's stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. increased its position in Alliant Energy by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Financial Advisors Network Inc. now owns 4,737 shares of the company's stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Alliant Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,509 shares of the company's stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Utah Retirement Systems raised its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 42,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,507,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leavell Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,061 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. 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.

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