TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Rating Increased to Hold at Wall Street Zen

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on TAC. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on TransAlta from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. CIBC raised TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperformer" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.75.

TransAlta Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of TransAlta stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $11.32. 1,623,740 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,254,384. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $9.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $10.77. 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 company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -565.47 and a beta of 0.74. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $6.78 and a 1-year high of $14.64.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 2,912 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the last quarter. Tobam raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 239.2% during the first 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. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the first quarter worth approximately $119,000. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the first quarter worth approximately $146,000. 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.