TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give TransAlta a consensus rating of Moderate Buy from eight firms (six buys, one hold, one sell) with an average 1‑year price target of $21.33.
• TransAlta missed quarterly expectations, reporting (‑$0.04) EPS versus $0.05 expected and revenue of $436.1M versus $493.4M, and posting a negative net margin of 7.51%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.07 per share (annualized $0.28) for a yield of 2.2%, with an ex‑dividend date of June 1 and payment on July 1.

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $21.3333.

TAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $24.00 price target on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $129,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $139,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $12.94 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.54 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $7.82 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 10.00% and a negative net margin of 7.51%.The business had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $493.39 million. Equities research analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently -40.43%.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company's core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.

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