TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s stock price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$18.09 and traded as high as C$20.51. TransAlta shares last traded at C$20.15, with a volume of 1,076,771 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on TA. Scotiabank raised TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotia set a C$27.00 price objective on TransAlta and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets set a C$28.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$18.50 to C$19.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$24.00 target price on shares of TransAlta and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$25.00.

TransAlta Trading Down 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company’s 50 day moving average is C$18.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is C$18.09. The firm has a market cap of C$6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.87, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.75.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 7.73%.The firm had revenue of C$560.00 million for the quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.45, for a total transaction of C$174,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 74,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,307,109.70. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. Also, insider Michael Politeski acquired 10,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$19.58 per share, with a total value of C$195,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 75,000 shares in the company, valued at C$1,468,500. This trade represents a 15.38% increase in their position. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 30,450 shares of company stock valued at $557,548 and sold 25,000 shares valued at $445,000. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.