TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

TAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price target (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 199.1% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 16,462,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,813,000 after purchasing an additional 10,957,858 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 32.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948,451 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,291,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,055,000 after acquiring an additional 62,145 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 9.0% during the second quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,085,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,513,000 after acquiring an additional 500,000 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 7.0% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,212,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,649,000 after acquiring an additional 342,630 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Trading Down 1.6%

TAC opened at $17.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of -40.48 and a beta of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $14.01 and its 200-day moving average is $11.70. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $7.82 and a 52-week high of $17.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98.

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

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently -45.24%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.