TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on TAC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, November 10th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Zacks Research cut shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 6th.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.8%

TransAlta stock opened at $13.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -32.69 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $7.82 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $12.58.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.07). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. The company had revenue of $441.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.84 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -37.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,039,000. Timelo Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter worth approximately $647,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in TransAlta by 1,150.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 904,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,456,000 after buying an additional 832,000 shares during the period. Greenland Capital Management LP lifted its stake in TransAlta by 107.8% in the second quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 181,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 93,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.