TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the nine research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $23.00.

TAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC opened at $12.46 on Thursday. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $11.38 and a 12-month high of $17.88. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $13.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.18. The company has a market capitalization of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.08 and a beta of 0.69.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -37.04%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. Rubric Capital Management LP boosted its position in TransAlta by 32.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,084,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948,451 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at about $45,298,000. Sculptor Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,958,000. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,163,000 after buying an additional 2,870,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,128,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.