TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, one has issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several research firms have issued reports on TAC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Scotiabank downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, April 11th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th.

TransAlta Trading Up 1.9 %

TAC stock traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $8.67. 1,323,619 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,147,380. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $10.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The business had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.31 million. On average, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be issued a $0.0458 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. TransAlta's payout ratio is -900.00%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Tobam acquired a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $145,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $147,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $150,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TransAlta

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.