TD Securities Increases TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Price Target to $20.00

Key Points

• The price target for TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) has been raised by TD Securities from $19.00 to $20.00, indicating a potential upside of 65.43% from its previous close.
• Currently, TransAlta holds an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with two analysts rating it as a hold, four as a buy, and one as a strong buy.
• TransAlta's shares have recently dipped by 3.4%, trading at $12.09, and the company reported $0.13 EPS in its last earnings release, surpassing analysts' expectations.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA had its price target lifted by equities researchers at TD Securities from $19.00 to $20.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the utilities provider's stock. TD Securities' price objective would indicate a potential upside of 64.41% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank raised TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Wall Street Zen raised TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.88.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.8%

TAC traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $12.17. 1,071,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,200,448. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $11.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.29. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.61 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.96 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.06. The business 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 forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $144,680,000 after buying an additional 150,554 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 20,398.6% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 191,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,703,000 after buying an additional 190,115 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $147,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in TransAlta by 321.7% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 405,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,735,000 after acquiring an additional 309,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 93.3% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 833,728 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $11,797,000 after acquiring an additional 402,499 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.