Alliant Energy's (LNT) "Market Perform" Rating Reaffirmed at BMO Capital Markets

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has raised its price target for Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) from $66.00 to $68.00, predicting a potential upside of 4.46% from current levels.
• In recent analyst reports, several firms have reiterated their ratings on Alliant Energy, with Jefferies Financial Group setting a target of $71.00 and UBS Group maintaining a "neutral" rating with a target of $67.00.
• Institutional investor T. Rowe Price significantly increased its stake in Alliant Energy, lifting it by 9,113.1%, reflecting strong institutional interest in the utility stock.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "market perform" rating reissued by equities research analysts at BMO Capital Markets in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $68.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $66.00. BMO Capital Markets' target price suggests a potential upside of 4.45% from the company's current price.

LNT has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 price target (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Barclays lowered shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Alliant Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.59.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock traded down $0.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $65.11. 527,199 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,972,511. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $61.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Alliant Energy has a 52-week low of $55.56 and a 52-week high of $66.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.53.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNT. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in Alliant Energy by 0.6% during the second quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 159,242 shares of the company's stock worth $9,629,000 after buying an additional 925 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 85,071 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,144,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 14,805 shares of the company's stock worth $895,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 142,780 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,634,000 after buying an additional 10,830 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 203.7% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,646,000 after purchasing an additional 18,256 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

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.