TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.83.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotiabank raised TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $16.00 to $20.00 in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen raised TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:TAC traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $12.25. The stock had a trading volume of 301,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,629. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a P/E ratio of -611.74 and a beta of 0.76. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of $6.78 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64. The business's 50 day moving average is $10.50 and its 200 day moving average is $10.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $509.31 million. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 1.64% and a net margin of 0.01%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in TransAlta by 199.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 16,462,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $153,813,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957,858 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in TransAlta by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,291,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,055,000 after acquiring an additional 62,145 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in TransAlta by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $131,222,000 after acquiring an additional 716,139 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in TransAlta by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $116,764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 280.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,385,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,211,000 after buying an additional 3,969,037 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.