Wells Fargo & Company Raises Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target to $66.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its price target hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on LNT. Scotiabank lifted their price target 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.28.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

LNT opened at $62.17 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market cap of $15.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy has a 12 month low of $46.80 and a 12 month high of $62.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.21.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.82%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 10.3% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,579,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $533,205,000 after buying an additional 984,963 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 1,756,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $89,408,000 after purchasing an additional 29,358 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,966 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,865,000 after purchasing an additional 116,399 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC now owns 964,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,085,000 after purchasing an additional 54,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 919,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,147,000 after purchasing an additional 304,022 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.