Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Purchases Shares of 5,062 Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Key Points

• Nicolet Advisory Services LLC has made a new investment in Alliant Energy Corporation, acquiring 5,062 shares valued at approximately $305,000.
• Research firms have recently updated their ratings for Alliant Energy, with Wolfe Research upgrading the stock to "outperform" and setting a price target of $68.00.
• Alliant Energy will distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.5075 per share, yielding 3.1%, with the dividend payout ratio at 70.00%.

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $305,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT stock traded down $0.30 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $65.77. The company had a trading volume of 1,541,681 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,980,855. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $62.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 0.34. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 12 month low of $55.17 and a 12 month high of $66.62. The firm has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.26% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.62 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNT has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Barclays downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.23.

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.