TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Hits New 52-Week Low at $6.10

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.10 and last traded at $6.13, with a volume of 74124 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $6.32.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th.

TransAlta Stock Down 2.8 %

The stock has a market cap of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.57.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $624.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $305.79 million. TransAlta had a net margin of 20.05% and a return on equity of 48.42%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($0.45) EPS. As a group, analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 766.3% during the 3rd quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 3,465 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,065 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 156.3% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 234.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,367 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 3,062 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.