TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.23 and traded as high as $13.82. TransAlta shares last traded at $13.5650, with a volume of 4,604,932 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.0%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of -25.12 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average of $12.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.23.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.36 million. Sell-side analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -35.19%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 8.7% during the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 882 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 48,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 893 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2.0% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $715,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.