AltaGas (TSE:ALA) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

AltaGas Ltd. (TSE:ALA) reached a new 52-week high on Monday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$33.00 to C$35.00. Scotiabank currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AltaGas traded as high as C$30.58 and last traded at C$30.40, with a volume of 236122 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$30.36.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ALA. Jefferies Financial Group set a C$34.00 target price on AltaGas and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. TD Securities raised their target price on AltaGas from C$32.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on AltaGas from C$32.00 to C$34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, National Bankshares lifted their price target on AltaGas from C$31.00 to C$33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$34.15.

Insider Transactions at AltaGas

In other news, Senior Officer Randy Warren Toone sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.18, for a total value of C$1,167,200.00. In related news, Senior Officer Randy Warren Toone sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$29.18, for a total value of C$1,167,200.00. Also, Director Jeremy Jason Weatherhead sold 12,215 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$29.60, for a total value of C$361,564.00. Insiders sold a total of 68,239 shares of company stock valued at $2,002,672 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AltaGas Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$29.47 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$28.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 125.64. The company has a market capitalization of C$8.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.22.

AltaGas (TSE:ALA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, March 8th. The company reported C$0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of C$0.75. AltaGas had a return on equity of 8.90% and a net margin of 5.18%. The company had revenue of C$3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of C$4.11 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that AltaGas Ltd. will post 2.1549815 EPS for the current year.

AltaGas Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were paid a dividend of $0.298 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $1.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. This is a boost from AltaGas’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AltaGas’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.65%.

AltaGas Company Profile

AltaGas Ltd. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through Utilities and Midstream segments. The Utilities segment owns and operates franchised, cost-of-service, rate-regulated natural gas distribution and storage utilities in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the District of Columbia serving approximately 1.6 million customers.