Alliant Energy’s (LNT) Neutral Rating Reaffirmed at Guggenheim

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Guggenheim in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $57.00 target price on the stock. Guggenheim’s price target points to a potential downside of 10.11% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on LNT. Barclays reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.75.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:LNT traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $63.41. 204,309 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,762. The stock has a market cap of $16.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.51, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. Alliant Energy has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $64.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $59.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The company had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,663,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,931,732,000 after buying an additional 226,275 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,768,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $636,829,000 after purchasing an additional 76,987 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Alliant Energy by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,012,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $414,724,000 after purchasing an additional 499,802 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,695,767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,017,000 after buying an additional 102,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 9,113.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,187,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,640,000 after buying an additional 4,141,895 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by 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.