TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Raised to Hold at Zacks Research

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Scotiabank raised TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded TransAlta from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.50.

TransAlta Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.48 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -69.36 and a beta of 0.70. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $13.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $379.54 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 2.76% and a positive return on equity of 8.85%. Equities analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 17,781,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,756,000 after acquiring an additional 1,832,874 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870,026 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,694,000 after purchasing an additional 174,449 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter valued at about $123,434,000. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $45,298,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About TransAlta

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.