Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Cut to Strong Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) from a sell rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, October 12th. HSBC assumed coverage on Alliant Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $69.50 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Barclays set a $68.00 price objective on Alliant Energy and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.23.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of LNT stock opened at $73.02 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.52. Alliant Energy has a 1-year low of $62.54 and a 1-year high of $78.81.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.21. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.16% and a net margin of 18.45%. The firm had revenue of $1.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.26 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Alliant Energy will post 3.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be given a dividend of $0.5350 per share. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.61%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 11,273,621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $808,996,000 after buying an additional 138,683 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $837,468,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $151,629,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $143,968,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Alliant Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,383,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,287,000 after acquiring an additional 44,474 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries, Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company, the company provides electric and natural gas service to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Alliant Energy’s operations include the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, as well as the distribution and sale of natural gas.