TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $19.75.

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE TAC opened at $11.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.19, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.26 billion, a P/E ratio of -549.83 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day moving average is $9.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.73. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $6.78 and a 12 month high of $14.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 199.1% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 16,462,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $153,813,000 after buying an additional 10,957,858 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 638.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,936,000 after purchasing an additional 6,913,431 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,038,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 512.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,870,226 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $68,880,000 after buying an additional 4,074,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 280.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,385,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,969,037 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is 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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