Jefferies Financial Group Initiates Coverage on Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT)

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) in a report released on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price target on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 12.19% from the stock’s current price.

LNT has been the topic of a number of other research reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $56.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $60.17.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $59.72 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.31 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy has a 1-year low of $45.15 and a 1-year high of $60.67.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $894.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.03 million. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.23% and a net margin of 15.77%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.64 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. City State Bank lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 71,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,621,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 56,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,879,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 70,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,585,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, Goldstein Advisors LLC lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 22,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,133,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.