Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Price Target Increased to $66.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) had its target price hoisted by Wells Fargo & Company from $62.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on LNT. Bank of America increased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.28.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT opened at $62.29 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.06. 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 has a 1 year low of $46.80 and a 1 year high of $62.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.98 billion, a PE ratio of 25.42, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 15.77%. The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $897.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.64 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 78.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LNT. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy during the second quarter worth $41,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth $43,000. MRP Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $74,000. 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.