Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Downgraded to Sector Perform Rating by Scotiabank

Scotiabank downgraded shares of Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) from a sector outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report published on Thursday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Scotiabank currently has $67.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $64.00.

LNT has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.39.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ LNT opened at $60.47 on Thursday. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $46.80 and a 1 year high of $64.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.10.

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

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 698.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,400,000 after acquiring an additional 394,920 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $72,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter valued at about $2,063,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $602,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Alliant Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,139 shares during the period. 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.