TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives $23.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP bought a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth about $131,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $12.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a PE ratio of -68.52 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $13.58 and its 200 day moving average is $13.19. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of $11.38 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 10.11%. The company had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.54 million. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently -105.56%.

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.