TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, six have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on TAC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded TransAlta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $12.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a PE ratio of -68.22 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $12.66 and a 200-day moving average of $13.00. TransAlta has a one year low of $11.38 and a one year high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $342.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.54 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is -111.11%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $87,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 8.7% in the first quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation is a Canada-based power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. The company develops, owns and operates electricity-generating facilities and provides power to utilities, commercial and industrial customers, and wholesale markets.

TransAlta’s generation portfolio includes hydroelectric, natural gas, wind, solar and battery storage facilities. The company has also historically operated coal-fired power plants and has been transitioning its generation fleet toward lower-emission sources, including renewable energy and natural gas.