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

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $20.00.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TAC. National Bank Financial lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th.

TransAlta Stock Down 4.2%

TAC opened at $12.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.08 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta has a one year low of $7.82 and a one year high of $17.88. The business’s fifty day moving average is $12.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $13.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.73.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. The business had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. Analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently -40.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 32.9% in the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,298,000. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,958,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,163,000 after buying an additional 2,870,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,633,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.