Brokerages Set TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Target Price at C$24.25

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$24.44.

TA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD lowered their price target on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Desjardins lowered their price target on TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lifted their target price on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised TransAlta from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$22.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In related news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 7,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.15, for a total transaction of C$127,050.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 84,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$1,532,821.95. This trade represents a 7.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total value of C$652,508.70. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$840,208.10. This trade represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 70,953 shares of company stock worth $1,262,409. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of TSE:TA opened at C$17.49 on Monday. The company has a market cap of C$5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.33, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.54. The stock’s 50-day moving average is C$17.76 and its 200-day moving average is C$18.77. TransAlta has a 52-week low of C$11.82 and a 52-week high of C$25.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.76.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$560.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 7.73%.

About TransAlta

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.