Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) Downgraded to “Underweight” Rating by Barclays

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) was downgraded by research analysts at Barclays from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $61.00 price target on the stock. Barclays‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 2.88% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on LNT. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $57.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Alliant Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.75.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Shares of LNT stock opened at $59.29 on Tuesday. Alliant Energy has a one year low of $49.05 and a one year high of $66.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.82. The firm has a market cap of $15.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.52.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The business had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Alliant Energy will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Alliant Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $602,000. Arvest Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,063,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $72,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy by 698.3% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,400,000 after acquiring an additional 394,920 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Alliant Energy by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock valued at $71,839,000 after purchasing an additional 101,387 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

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.