Scotia Reiterates C$27.00 Price Target for TransAlta (TSE:TA)

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) has been assigned a C$27.00 price objective by research analysts at Scotia in a report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector outperform” rating on the stock. Scotia’s price target points to a potential upside of 54.46% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. TD lowered their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets set a C$28.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial upped their price target on TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 1st. Finally, Desjardins cut their price target on TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$24.95.

TransAlta Price Performance

TA traded up C$0.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting C$17.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,132,181 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,452,348. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is C$18.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$18.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$14.07 and a 12 month high of C$25.03. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.69.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 7.73%.The firm had revenue of C$560.00 million during the quarter.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In related news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.25, for a total value of C$182,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 49,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$910,784.50. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total value of C$652,508.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 46,939 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$840,208.10. This represents a 43.71% decrease in their position. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 20,450 shares of company stock worth $361,748 and sold 95,953 shares worth $1,707,409. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About TransAlta

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.