TransAlta (TSE:TA) Upgraded at National Bank Financial

National Bank Financial upgraded shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) from a hold rating to an outperform rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. National Bank Financial currently has C$22.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on TA. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Desjardins cut their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$25.00 to C$26.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$24.25.

TransAlta Price Performance

TSE:TA opened at C$17.93 on Tuesday. TransAlta has a 12-month low of C$11.16 and a 12-month high of C$25.03. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.02, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is C$17.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$19.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 320.51.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported C($0.06) EPS for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a negative net margin of 5.74%.The business had revenue of C$712.00 million for the quarter.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.45, for a total transaction of C$174,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 103,953 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,813,979.85. This trade represents a 8.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Insiders have sold 22,500 shares of company stock worth $394,550 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.