TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Sets New 52-Week Low at $5.95

Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $5.95 and last traded at $5.96, with a volume of 127032 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.10.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average price is $6.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.50. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.34 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.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Barclays PLC increased its stake in TransAlta by 18.0% in the first quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 11,800 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Man Group plc increased its stake in TransAlta by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 17,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC increased its stake in TransAlta by 7.2% in the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 33,250 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 2,242 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in TransAlta by 25.7% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,712 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 2,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 156.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.