TransAlta (TSE:TA) Trading Down 16.5% – Here’s What Happened

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) shares fell 16.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as C$19.13 and last traded at C$19.87. 1,814,128 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 4% from the average session volume of 1,736,289 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$23.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Desjardins boosted their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$21.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$23.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. National Bankshares lifted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. ATB Capital boosted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$18.00 to C$20.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities decreased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$22.89.

TransAlta Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 229.66. The company has a market capitalization of C$6.45 billion, a PE ratio of -40.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is C$20.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is C$16.84.

About TransAlta

TransAlta is an independent power producer based in Alberta, Canada. The company operates a diverse and growing fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States, and Australia consisting of hydro, wind, solar, battery storage, gas and energy transition facilities. The majority of the company’s revenues are derived from the sale of generation capacity, electricity, thermal energy, environmental attributes, and byproducts of power generation.