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

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $24.50.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 17th.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC stock opened at $11.77 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $12.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. The firm has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -65.36 and a beta of 0.70. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $11.38 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 8.85%. The firm had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. Research analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.21 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a C$0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently -111.11%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at about $159,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in TransAlta by 5.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,250,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $17,338,000 after buying an additional 60,658 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in TransAlta by 3.9% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 290,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,015,000 after buying an additional 10,957 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 222.0% in the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 50,683 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $701,000 after buying an additional 34,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 5.7% in the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 17,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates electricity-generating facilities and provides power to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets.

TransAlta’s generation portfolio includes hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and battery storage facilities. The company has also historically operated coal-fired power plants and has been transitioning its generation fleet toward lower-emission sources, including renewable energy and natural gas.