BMO Capital Markets Raises Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target to $53.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by equities researchers at BMO Capital Markets from $51.00 to $53.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "market perform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target would suggest a potential upside of 10.42% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on LNT. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Barclays reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.31.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT remained flat at $48.00 during midday trading on Monday. The company had a trading volume of 1,912,886 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,972,669. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Alliant Energy has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The company's 50-day moving average is $48.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.46. The company has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Alliant Energy news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 117,612 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,714,000 after purchasing an additional 3,451 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $427,000. National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 11,488.8% in the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 371,883 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,235,000 after purchasing an additional 368,674 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,030,199 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,938,766,000 after purchasing an additional 342,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 799 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.