TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Upgraded by Scotiabank to Strong-Buy Rating

Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on TAC. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.25.

TransAlta Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE:TAC opened at $12.41 on Wednesday. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $10.28 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.11. 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 $3.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -22.97 and a beta of 0.69.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its earnings results 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. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%.The firm had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. On average, equities analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP bought a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $131,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.