TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) shares crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $13.23 and traded as high as $13.82. TransAlta shares last traded at $13.5650, with a volume of 4,604,932 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on TAC. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 target price on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. National Bank Financial upgraded TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.33.

TransAlta Trading Down 0.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of -25.12 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $12.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.23.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%.The company had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. Sell-side analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently -35.19%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 45,478 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,660,000 after purchasing an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,601,000 after purchasing an additional 170,829 shares during the period. Westerly Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of TransAlta by 418.8% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,186,000 after purchasing an additional 238,422 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.