TransAlta (TSE:TA) Given New C$19.00 Price Target at Desjardins

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) had its target price raised by research analysts at Desjardins from C$18.50 to C$19.00 in a research note issued on Friday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “hold” rating on the stock. Desjardins’ price objective suggests a potential downside of 2.56% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on TA. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$24.00 price objective on TransAlta and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Scotia set a C$27.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets set a C$28.00 target price on shares of TransAlta and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$25.00.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TA traded up C$0.39 on Friday, reaching C$19.50. 201,669 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,552,009. The firm has a market cap of C$6.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.00, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.61. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$14.08 and a 12 month high of C$25.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$18.38 and its 200-day moving average price is C$18.00.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransAlta news, insider Michael Politeski purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$19.58 per share, for a total transaction of C$195,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,468,500. The trade was a 15.38% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider directly owned 49,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$910,784.50. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 30,450 shares of company stock valued at $557,548 and sold 25,000 shares valued at $445,000. 0.21% of the stock is 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.