TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TAC. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in TransAlta by 6.0% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 23,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 5.7% during the third quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 34,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 1,827 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 3,257 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 62,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $854,000 after buying an additional 4,110 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Trading Up 1.4%

TAC stock opened at $12.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.67 billion, a PE ratio of -25.78 and a beta of 0.75. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $13.91 and its 200 day moving average is $13.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $441.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.84 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.39% and a positive return on equity of 3.00%. On average, research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -37.50%.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.