Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Hits New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $66.54 and last traded at $64.26, with a volume of 2405048 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $66.04.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LNT has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 2.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $15.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $60.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.14.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. The business had revenue of $976.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. Equities analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 75.46%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 517.0% in the 4th quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 617 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 251.2% in the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 878 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 628 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.