TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$24.25.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, National Bank Financial raised shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$22.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransAlta news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.15, for a total transaction of C$127,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,532,821.95. The trade was a 7.65% decrease in their position. Also, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total transaction of C$652,508.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at C$840,208.10. The trade was a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold a total of 70,953 shares of company stock worth $1,262,409 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

TA stock opened at C$16.94 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$17.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$18.91. The stock has a market cap of C$5.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.47, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.54. TransAlta has a 1 year low of C$11.56 and a 1 year high of C$25.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 320.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The company reported C($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$712.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a negative net margin of 5.74%.

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.