ALLIANT ENERGY CORP. $60 - New York symbol LNT

ALLIANT ENERGY CORP. $60 (New York symbol LNT; Income Portfolio, Utilities sector; Shares outstanding: 113.0 million; Market cap: $6.8 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 2.1; Dividend yield: 3.7%; TSINetwork Rating: Average; www.alliantenergy.com) sells power and natural gas to 1.4 million clients in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

Alliant gets just under half of its power from coalburning plants, so it’s in a better position than Ameren (see left) to comply with new air-quality standards. Even so, it plans to spend $10.0 billion on upgrades over the next eight years. This includes converting coal plants to gas and replacing transmission lines.

Warmer weather has also hurt Alliant’s gas and electricity sales. In the first quarter of 2015, revenue fell 5.8%, to $897.4 million from $952.8 million a year earlier. Earnings declined 10.6%, to $96.6 million, or $0.87 a share, from $108.0 million, or $0.97.

The company will likely earn $3.63 a share in 2015, and the stock trades at 16.5 times that estimate. The $2.20 dividend yields 3.7%.

Alliant Energy is a buy.

A professional investment analyst for more than 30 years, Pat has developed a stock-selection technique that has proven reliable in both bull and bear markets. His proprietary ValuVesting System™ focuses on stocks that provide exceptional quality at relatively low prices. Many savvy investors and industry leaders consider it the most powerful stock-picking method ever created.