TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $24.50 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Nine firms give TransAlta a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $24.50.
• TransAlta beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $0.13 versus the $0.05 consensus and revenue of $376.43 million versus estimates of $366.40 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of C$0.07 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of 2.2%; institutional investors own 59% of its shares.

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on TAC shares. Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note 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.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth about $123,434,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta during the first quarter worth about $34,128,000. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter worth approximately $31,799,000. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at $28,349,000. Finally, Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,626,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $13.02 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $12.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.95. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 118.34 and a beta of 0.73. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $11.38 and a twelve month high of $15.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $376.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.40 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%. As a group, research analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a C$0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.

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