Brokerages Set TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) PT at $19.88

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

Several research firms recently commented on TAC. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 20th. Natl Bk Canada cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 168,411 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,133,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,999,000 after purchasing an additional 463,266 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in TransAlta by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 48,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,694,000 after acquiring an additional 174,449 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $13.25 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.60 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.07). TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 3.00% and a negative net margin of 7.39%.The business had revenue of $441.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $558.84 million. As a group, analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently -37.50%.

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.