TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TAC. Weiss Ratings raised TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Scotiabank raised TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Cowen started coverage on TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

TransAlta Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $12.48 on Monday. TransAlta has a one year low of $11.38 and a one year high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -69.36 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $13.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.17.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $342.85 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.54 million. On average, analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -111.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in TransAlta by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 17,781,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,756,000 after buying an additional 1,832,874 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870,026 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,694,000 after acquiring an additional 174,449 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter valued at $123,434,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $45,298,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.