TransAlta (TSE:TA) Share Price Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) shares crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$19.20 and traded as low as C$18.62. TransAlta shares last traded at C$18.87, with a volume of 1,194,650 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TA. Desjardins reduced their price target on TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. ATB Cormark Capital Markets boosted their price target on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce boosted their price target on TransAlta from C$25.00 to C$26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised TransAlta from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$22.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$24.25.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 320.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of C$17.90 and a 200 day moving average price of C$19.20. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -29.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.53.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported C($0.06) EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$712.00 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a negative net margin of 5.74%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In related news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.45, for a total transaction of C$174,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 103,953 shares in the company, valued at C$1,813,979.85. The trade was a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total value of C$652,508.70. Following the transaction, the insider owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at C$840,208.10. This represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders sold 70,953 shares of company stock worth $1,262,409 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About TransAlta

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.