TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price Down 14.9% – Should You Sell?

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) were down 14.9% on Monday . The stock traded as low as C$16.26 and last traded at C$16.47. Approximately 836,079 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average daily volume of 2,042,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$19.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CIBC cut TransAlta from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from C$17.00 to C$23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$18.33.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$18.54 and a 200 day moving average price of C$14.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.04, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported C($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.18 by C($0.30). TransAlta had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 32.01%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total value of C$729,260.67. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 3,602 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.84, for a total value of C$67,861.68. Insiders sold 204,763 shares of company stock worth $3,478,670 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.