Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) Announces $0.48 Quarterly Dividend

Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, April 15th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of 0.48 per share on Wednesday, May 15th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th.

Alliant Energy has raised its dividend payment by an average of 6.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Alliant Energy has a payout ratio of 58.7% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Alliant Energy to earn $3.26 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 58.9%.

Alliant Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

LNT stock opened at $49.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Alliant Energy has a twelve month low of $45.15 and a twelve month high of $56.26. The company’s 50 day moving average is $48.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.55. The stock has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.85% and a net margin of 17.46%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.46 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alliant Energy will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Alliant Energy

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $57.00 to $53.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.36.

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.