TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Rating Lowered by Scotiabank

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) was downgraded by research analysts at Scotiabank from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. They presently have a C$21.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of C$19.00. Scotiabank’s price target suggests a potential upside of 27.20% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins lifted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, CIBC lowered shares of 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$18.71.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock traded up C$0.76 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching C$16.51. 608,243 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,436,356. The company has a market cap of C$4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.69, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of C$18.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$14.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. TransAlta has a 12-month low of C$8.22 and a 12-month high of C$21.22.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In other news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.11, for a total value of C$377,750.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total value of C$1,060,227.30. Insiders sold 204,763 shares of company stock worth $3,478,670 in the last 90 days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.