Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target to $56.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $55.00 to $56.00 in a research report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

LNT has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a sector outperform rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH dropped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $48.50 to $48.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $51.38.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of Alliant Energy stock opened at $50.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $12.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.56. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $49.07 and its 200 day moving average is $49.56. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $45.15 and a one year high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported $0.62 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.62. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.57% and a net margin of 17.53%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.82%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of Alliant Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Alliant Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 96,950 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,697,000 after acquiring an additional 1,209 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 5.7% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 64,614 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,131,000 after purchasing an additional 3,510 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,325,792 shares of the company’s stock valued at $112,685,000 after buying an additional 105,723 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $293,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 22,139 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 465 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.