TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $16.87, but opened at $13.81. TransAlta shares last traded at $14.3220, with a volume of 2,414,192 shares.

The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.13). TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on TAC shares. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 6th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sowell Financial Services LLC increased its position in TransAlta by 6.0% in the second quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 23,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in TransAlta by 27.7% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its position in TransAlta by 6.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in TransAlta by 3.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $14.72 and a 200 day moving average of $12.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -33.75 and a beta of 0.80.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.