TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA's share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $10.47, but opened at $10.69. TransAlta shares last traded at $11.30, with a volume of 540,852 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.75.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The company's fifty day moving average price is $9.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.76. The company has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.78 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $526.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $509.31 million. TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. NBC Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 145,600.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 2,914 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its holdings in TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $147,000. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $150,000. Finally, Tobam increased its holdings in TransAlta by 239.2% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 10,943 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 7,717 shares during the last quarter. 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.