TransAlta (TA) Competitors

TransAlta (TSE:TA) and Emera (TSE:EMA) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Which has more volatility and risk, TA or EMA?

TransAlta has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Emera has a beta of 0.35, indicating that its stock price is 65% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is TA or EMA a better dividend stock?

TransAlta pays an annual dividend of C$0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Emera pays an annual dividend of C$2.90 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. TransAlta pays out 34.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Emera pays out 112.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Does the media favor TA or EMA?

In the previous week, Emera had 9 more articles in the media than TransAlta. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Emera and 2 mentions for TransAlta. Emera's average media sentiment score of 0.60 beat TransAlta's score of 0.55 indicating that Emera is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
TransAlta	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Emera	3 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is TA or EMA more profitable?

Emera has a net margin of 10.51% compared to TransAlta's net margin of 7.49%. TransAlta's return on equity of 12.03% beat Emera's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TransAlta	7.49%	12.03%	7.07%
Emera	10.51%	6.06%	2.30%

Which has higher earnings & valuation, TA or EMA?

Emera has higher revenue and earnings than TransAlta. TransAlta is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Emera, 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
TransAlta	C$2.83B	1.56	C$212.05M	C$0.70	20.98
Emera	C$7.21B	2.51	C$757.30M	C$2.58	23.93

Do analysts prefer TA or EMA?

TransAlta presently has a consensus price target of C$18.22, indicating a potential upside of 23.79%. Emera has a consensus price target of C$60.58, indicating a potential downside of 1.87%. Given TransAlta's higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe TransAlta is more favorable than Emera.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TransAlta	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.89
Emera	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.91

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in TA or EMA?

70.8% of TransAlta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 28.1% of Emera shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of TransAlta shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Emera shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Emera beats TransAlta on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.