TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Shares Down 10.3% – Here’s What Happened

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA)’s share price was down 10.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $13.03 and last traded at $12.9660. Approximately 660,496 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,472,764 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on TAC shares. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.33.

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -24.04 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $13.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%.The company had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. Equities research analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP grew 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 valued at $224,756,000 after buying an additional 1,832,874 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in TransAlta by 27.5% during 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 buying an additional 2,870,026 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in TransAlta by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,694,000 after buying an additional 174,449 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in TransAlta by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,648,000 after buying an additional 330,000 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $45,298,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.