Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) saw a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 7,080,000 shares, a growth of 16.1% from the November 15th total of 6,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,550,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Barclays reduced 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 target price for the company. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.39.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Alliant Energy by 7,083.3% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 425 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT opened at $59.88 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.37 billion, a PE ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $60.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.35. Alliant Energy has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.05 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

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.