Atb Cap Markets Analysts Reduce Earnings Estimates for TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) – Investment analysts at Atb Cap Markets decreased their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for TransAlta in a research note issued to investors on Sunday, May 5th. Atb Cap Markets analyst N. Heywood now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $0.18 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $0.26. The consensus estimate for TransAlta’s current full-year earnings is $0.51 per share. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for TransAlta’s FY2024 earnings at $0.80 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.59 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC stock opened at $7.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $6.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $7.31. The company has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.83. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $5.94 and a twelve month high of $10.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $624.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $305.79 million. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.70% and a return on equity of 43.02%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 26.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.45) earnings per share.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0438 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.97%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 25.7% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 2,392 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 156.3% during the 1st quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Clayton Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 18,546 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the period. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. DORCHESTER WEALTH MANAGEMENT Co now owns 148,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after purchasing an additional 3,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tacita Capital Inc lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2.3% in the third quarter. Tacita Capital Inc now owns 163,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,425,000 after purchasing an additional 3,675 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.