TransAlta's (TAC) "Sell (D+)" Rating Reiterated at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• TransAlta's stock has been reaffirmed with a "sell (D+)" rating by Weiss Ratings, despite some analysts giving it higher ratings, including "outperform" from Scotiabank and National Bankshares.
• The company's shares recently traded at $15.60 with a 12-month price range between $7.82 and $15.70, indicating significant growth potential after a period of strong trading volume.
• TransAlta reported earnings per share of $0.13 in its latest quarter, exceeding analyst expectations but falling short of revenue targets, with an average price target of $19.88 among analysts.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC - Get Free Report) TSE: TA's stock had its "sell (d+)" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Scotiabank reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday. National Bankshares restated an "outperform" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wall Street Zen raised TransAlta from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 14th. Zacks Research downgraded TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $15.60. The stock had a trading volume of 3,094,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,303,416. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $15.70. The business has a fifty day moving average of $12.84 and a 200 day moving average of $10.97. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -37.14 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in TransAlta by 145,600.0% during 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 period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted 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 period. Tobam lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 239.2% in 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 period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in TransAlta during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the second quarter worth $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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