TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$18.02 and traded as high as C$19.57. TransAlta shares last traded at C$19.43, with a volume of 1,942,692 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on TA shares. National Bank Financial boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. TD set a C$26.00 target price on shares of TransAlta and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Desjardins increased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$18.00 to C$18.50 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$24.00 price target on shares of TransAlta and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$24.95.

TransAlta Price Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of C$18.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$18.03. The firm has a market capitalization of C$6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.76.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 7.73%.The firm had revenue of C$560.00 million during the quarter.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total transaction of C$652,508.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at C$840,208.10. The trade was a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.25, for a total transaction of C$182,500.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 49,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$910,784.50. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 20,450 shares of company stock valued at $361,748 and have sold 90,953 shares valued at $1,620,109. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.