Analysts Set TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) PT at $19.88

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

Several research analysts have commented on TAC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 20th. Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Natl Bk Canada cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TransAlta stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $13.34. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 98,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,842. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $13.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $13.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.79. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $7.82 and a 12-month high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $3.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -27.79 and a beta of 0.78.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. This represents a $0.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently -39.58%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Swiss National Bank grew its position in TransAlta by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 557,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,068,000 after acquiring an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $646,000. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 215.3% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 57,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $724,000 after purchasing an additional 39,094 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 401.4% during the 4th quarter. CenterBook Partners LP now owns 377,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,777,000 after purchasing an additional 302,570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 493.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 595,012 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,521,000 after buying an additional 494,695 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.