TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) reached a new 52-week high of $14.90 before closing at $14.42, alongside a trading volume of nearly 1.93 million shares.
• Several analysts have provided mixed ratings, with TD Securities projecting a price target increase to $20.00, while Weiss Ratings remains cautious with a "sell" rating.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.065 from $0.05, reflecting a positive change and a yield of 1.8% for investors.

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $14.90 and last traded at $14.42, with a volume of 1925976 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $12.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -34.47 and a beta of 0.79.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 1st were paid a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 29th. This is a positive change from TransAlta's previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. TransAlta's payout ratio is -45.24%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 2,912 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 4,380 shares during the period. Tobam lifted its stake in TransAlta by 239.2% in the first quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 7,717 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the first quarter worth $119,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter valued at $127,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company's stock.

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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