TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• TransAlta Corporation's shares reached a new 52-week high of $15.70 during trading, with a last traded price of $15.60.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.065 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.7%, an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.05.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on TransAlta, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $19.88.

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $15.70 and last traded at $15.60, with a volume of 3094918 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Scotiabank reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.88.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of -37.10 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $12.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.97.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 29th. This is an increase from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 145,600.0% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Tobam increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 239.2% during the 1st quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 7,717 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,000. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

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.

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