Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $70.09 and last traded at $70.0370, with a volume of 633693 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.23.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LNT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Wolfe Research reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $76.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, December 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Alliant Energy from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $67.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.13.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $18.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $66.13 and its 200-day moving average is $66.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.535 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 67.30%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Carnegie Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 622,821 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,984,000 after buying an additional 24,482 shares in the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 91.7% during the 3rd quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 984,790 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,389,000 after acquiring an additional 470,967 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,015,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,314,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 108.9% in the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 47,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,175,000 after purchasing an additional 24,549 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.