Scotiabank Trims Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Target Price to $53.00

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its price target cut by Scotiabank from $57.00 to $53.00 in a research report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a sector outperform rating on the stock.

LNT has been the topic of several other reports. Bank of America cut their target price on Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $51.36.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $50.37 on Monday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $48.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.53. The company has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a PE ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Alliant Energy has a 12-month low of $45.15 and a 12-month high of $56.26.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. The business had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Insider Activity at Alliant Energy

In related news, CEO Lisa M. Barton purchased 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,194,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $471,679,000 after acquiring an additional 505,101 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 68.3% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,802,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,382,000 after buying an additional 1,948,485 shares during the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,651,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,325,000 after buying an additional 213,522 shares during the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 3,173,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,800,000 after buying an additional 67,550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,491,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,795,000 after buying an additional 55,131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.