TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Zacks Research

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Zacks reports.

TAC has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $24.50.

TransAlta Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:TAC traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $13.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,138,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,349,584. The stock has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 118.34 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $12.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $12.95. TransAlta has a one year low of $11.38 and a one year high of $15.98.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 8.85%. The business had revenue of $376.43 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $366.40 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,378,000. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter valued at $128,000. Signaturefd LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter valued at $307,000. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,209,000. Finally, Lee Financial Co purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of electricity-generating facilities, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, natural gas and coal-fired power assets.

TransAlta supplies electricity to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets. Its activities include power generation, energy marketing, asset management and the development of renewable energy projects.