Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Given New $68.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its price objective boosted by UBS Group from $65.00 to $68.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 target price on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Scotiabank lowered Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $63.05 on Friday. Alliant Energy has a 52-week low of $47.23 and a 52-week high of $66.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.52.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.14 billion. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.33% and a return on equity of 11.39%. On average, analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.5075 dividend. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 75.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.7% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 54,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,325,000 after buying an additional 4,405 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after acquiring an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during 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.