TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

A number of research analysts have commented on TAC shares. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta in the third quarter valued at about $139,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $639,000 after acquiring an additional 10,464 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in TransAlta by 68.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 26,215 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP grew its holdings in TransAlta by 32.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.1%

TAC opened at $17.66 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of -42.03 and a beta of 0.79. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $14.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $11.95.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $451.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently -45.24%.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.