TransAlta (TAC) Competitors

Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) and TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) are both energy companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, earnings, dividends, institutional ownership, risk, media sentiment, community ranking and analyst recommendations.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of TLN or TAC?

0.4% of Talen Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 59.0% of TransAlta shares are held by institutional investors. 0.2% of Talen Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of TransAlta shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community believe in TLN or TAC?

TransAlta received 75 more outperform votes than Talen Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 63.22% of users gave Talen Energy an outperform vote while only 55.24% of users gave TransAlta an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Talen Energy	Outperform Votes 220 63.22%	Underperform Votes 128 36.78%
TransAlta	Outperform Votes 295 55.24%	Underperform Votes 239 44.76%

Does the media prefer TLN or TAC?

In the previous week, Talen Energy had 18 more articles in the media than TransAlta. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Talen Energy and 4 mentions for TransAlta. TransAlta's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat Talen Energy's score of 0.76 indicating that TransAlta is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Talen Energy	11 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
TransAlta	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate TLN or TAC?

Talen Energy presently has a consensus price target of $240.18, indicating a potential downside of 12.66%. TransAlta has a consensus price target of $19.75, indicating a potential upside of 73.40%. Given TransAlta's higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe TransAlta is more favorable than Talen Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Talen Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
TransAlta	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80

Is TLN or TAC more profitable?

Talen Energy has a net margin of 50.48% compared to TransAlta's net margin of 6.38%. TransAlta's return on equity of 18.47% beat Talen Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Talen Energy	50.48%	8.59%	3.13%
TransAlta	6.38%	18.47%	2.09%

Which has better valuation and earnings, TLN or TAC?

Talen Energy has higher earnings, but lower revenue than TransAlta. TransAlta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Talen Energy, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Talen Energy	$2.09B	6.00	$613M	$9.63	28.56
TransAlta	$2.66B	1.27	$514.86M	-$0.02	-569.50

Which has more risk & volatility, TLN or TAC?

Talen Energy has a beta of 1.78, suggesting that its share price is 78% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, TransAlta has a beta of 0.74, suggesting that its share price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Talen Energy beats TransAlta on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.