TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of C$18.32 and traded as high as C$18.57. TransAlta shares last traded at C$18.55, with a volume of 1,703,535 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on TA. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lifted their target price on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Desjardins cut their target price on TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD cut their target price on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. 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 note on Tuesday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$24.44.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.0%

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is C$17.73 and its 200-day moving average price is C$18.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.58 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.99, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.54.

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

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other news, insider Michael Politeski acquired 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$17.24 per share, with a total value of C$172,400.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 55,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$948,200. This represents a 22.22% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.25, for a total value of C$182,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 49,906 shares in the company, valued at C$910,784.50. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,953 shares of company stock valued at $1,707,409. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.