Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Posts Earnings Results

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.03, Zacks reports. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 19.14% and a return on equity of 12.02%.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $70.01. The stock had a trading volume of 3,341,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,570,156. Alliant Energy has a 1 year low of $57.09 and a 1 year high of $72.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.47. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th were paid a dividend of $0.535 per share. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 30th. This is a positive change from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.30%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth $81,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 126.8% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $88,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 17.4% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on LNT shares. UBS Group set a $75.00 price target on Alliant Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen cut Alliant Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Alliant Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.13.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: LNT) is a publicly traded energy holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, that provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services in the American Midwest. The company serves customers primarily in Wisconsin and Iowa through its regulated utility subsidiaries and operates as an integrated provider responsible for generation, transmission and distribution of energy to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Alliant Energy’s core activities include operating and maintaining electric generation assets, managing the regional transmission and distribution network, and delivering natural gas service to its franchise territories.