TransAlta Corporation (TAC) To Go Ex-Dividend on September 1st

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.07 per share by the utilities provider on Thursday, October 1st. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st.

TransAlta has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 2 consecutive years. TransAlta has a dividend payout ratio of 117.6% meaning the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Research analysts expect TransAlta to earn $0.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.20 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.1%.

TransAlta Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $12.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $13.63 and a 200-day moving average of $13.18. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $11.38 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The stock has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of -23.08 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $436.36 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.17 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. TD Cowen started coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Zacks Research cut TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.00.

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.