Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Reaches New 12-Month High at $56.79

Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.79 and last traded at $56.22, with a volume of 307579 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LNT shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays raised their price objective on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.63.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $14.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.56. The business’s 50-day moving average is $51.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. Alliant Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 68.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,802,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,382,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948,485 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 10.3% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,579,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $533,205,000 after buying an additional 984,963 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 103.5% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,286,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,020,000 after buying an additional 654,460 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 14,057.8% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 577,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,084,000 after buying an additional 572,996 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Ridge Investment Management bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,804,000. 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.