TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Receives $20.00 Average PT from Brokerages

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $20.00.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on TAC shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. National Bank Financial lowered TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.2%

TAC stock opened at $13.25 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $12.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.81. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $7.82 and a twelve month high of $17.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of -28.19 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54.

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

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. This is a positive change from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently -40.43%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its position in TransAlta by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 17,781,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,756,000 after buying an additional 1,832,874 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,163,000 after acquiring an additional 2,870,026 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,694,000 after acquiring an additional 174,449 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,648,000 after acquiring an additional 330,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $45,298,000. Hedge funds and other 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.