Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Hits New 52-Week High at $60.14

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.14 and last traded at $59.80, with a volume of 118640 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $59.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNT. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $56.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $52.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $897.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the second quarter worth $1,144,000. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $257,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Regal Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $253,000. Finally, Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.8% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 65,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,143 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.