TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $22.25.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets set a $25.00 target price on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, April 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,949,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $149,569,000 after purchasing an additional 248,027 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 15.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,830 shares in the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,648,000 after purchasing an additional 330,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 493.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 83,414 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aventail Capital Group LP purchased a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $38,633,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $13.14 and a 200 day moving average of $13.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.08 and a beta of 0.69. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $10.22 and a 12-month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. On average, research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

About TransAlta

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.