TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Downgraded to Strong Sell Rating by Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TAC. TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 price objective (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Price Performance

TAC traded up $0.59 during trading on Thursday, hitting $15.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,133,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,512. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.19. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.07). TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%.The company had revenue of $441.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.84 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -37.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,949,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $149,569,000 after acquiring an additional 248,027 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 493.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 100,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,371,000 after purchasing an additional 83,414 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in TransAlta by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares in the last quarter. IMC Chicago LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $269,000. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in TransAlta by 231.6% in the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 20,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 14,133 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.