Barclays Raises Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target to $61.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its target price lifted by Barclays from $55.00 to $61.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on LNT. Bank of America increased their target price on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.28.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT opened at $61.98 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.12. The company has a market cap of $15.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $46.80 and a one year high of $62.49.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 15.77% and a return on equity of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $897.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 78.37%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 604.0% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 72,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 62,431 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,077 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 36.3% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 70,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,558,000 after purchasing an additional 18,800 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the first quarter valued at about $2,199,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 103.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,286,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,020,000 after buying an additional 654,460 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.