TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Average Recommendation of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• TransAlta Corporation has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from seven research firms, with a 1-year price target averaging $19.88.
• The company has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.065 per share, representing a yield of 2.1%.
• TransAlta reported earnings of $0.13 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, although its revenue fell short of estimates at $451.20 million.

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

Several brokerages have issued reports on TAC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 12th. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th.

TransAlta Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of TAC opened at $12.29 on Monday. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $14.64. The stock's 50-day moving average is $11.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a PE ratio of -29.25 and a beta of 0.78.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its earnings results on Friday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $451.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $473.94 million. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%. Equities analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -45.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter worth $159,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its holdings in TransAlta by 68.0% during the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 26,215 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 32.9% in the 2nd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares during the last quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $904,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 418.8% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 238,422 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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