Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Sees Strong Trading Volume – What’s Next?

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) shares saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 3,388,588 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 2,665,170 shares.The stock last traded at $71.6790 and had previously closed at $71.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on LNT shares. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price target (up from $72.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Finally, UBS Group set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.50.

Alliant Energy Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.06 and a 200-day moving average of $66.65.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 18.57% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The company had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $673.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. Alliant Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.360-3.460 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th were issued a $0.535 dividend. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.94%.

Institutional Trading of Alliant Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LNT. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Country Trust Bank bought a new position in Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in Alliant Energy by 84.9% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 516 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MRP Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

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.