TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• TransAlta shares moved above their 200-day moving average during Tuesday trading, with the stock reaching as high as $14.02 and last trading near $13.98. The move comes after the shares had a 200-day average of $13.15.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive: several firms recently reiterated or initiated Buy/Outperform ratings, and MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $23.00.
• The company beat quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $0.04 per share versus the $0.01 estimate, though revenue came in below forecasts. Institutional investors also increased exposure, with hedge funds and other institutions owning 59% of the stock.

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.15 and traded as high as $14.02. TransAlta shares last traded at $13.9760, with a volume of 1,392,565 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on TAC. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of TransAlta from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $23.00.

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.88 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.15.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%. On average, analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 40,527 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 22,966 shares in the last quarter. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter worth $34,128,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 54.7% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,642 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 1,642 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 17.9% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,428,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,709,000 after acquiring an additional 217,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the first quarter valued at $5,448,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company's core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.

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