Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target Raised to $66.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its price target hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $60.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on LNT. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank lowered shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.25.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT opened at $63.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a 50 day moving average of $59.72 and a 200-day moving average of $59.85. 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 has a 1-year low of $46.80 and a 1-year high of $64.19.

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

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.5075 per share. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 75.46%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LNT. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 9,113.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,187,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,640,000 after acquiring an additional 4,141,895 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,363,000 after acquiring an additional 771,919 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,225,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S bought a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $31,201,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares in the last quarter. 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.