TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Announces Quarterly Dividend of C$0.07

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of C$0.07 per share by the utilities provider on Friday, January 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st.

TransAlta has a dividend payout ratio of 117.6% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 51.3%.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.79 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -71.06 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $12.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.92. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. Analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on TAC shares. Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. One equities 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of electricity-generating facilities, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and coal-fired power assets.

TransAlta supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets. Its activities include power generation, energy marketing, asset management and the development of renewable energy projects.