TransAlta’s (TAC) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Royal Bank Of Canada

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Royal Bank Of Canada in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $24.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Royal Bank Of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 90.42% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.33.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $12.60. 414,465 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,583,221. The company has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -26.80 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of $7.82 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $12.94 and its 200 day moving average is $13.85.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. The company had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.39 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in TransAlta in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth approximately $131,000. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

About TransAlta

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.