TransAlta (TSE:TA) Upgraded by Scotiabank to “Strong-Buy” Rating

Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Scotia set a C$27.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$24.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. TD set a C$26.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. National Bank Financial upped their target price on TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Finally, ATB Cormark Capital Markets set a C$28.00 target price on TransAlta and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$24.95.

TransAlta Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at C$17.27 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20. The firm has a market cap of C$5.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$18.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$18.05. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of C$14.07 and a fifty-two week high of C$25.03.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of C$560.00 million during the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 11.56% and a negative net margin of 7.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransAlta news, insider Michael Politeski bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of C$18.15 per share, for a total transaction of C$181,500.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,179,750. This trade represents a 18.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.25, for a total transaction of C$182,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 49,906 shares in the company, valued at C$910,784.50. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 20,450 shares of company stock worth $361,748 and sold 90,953 shares worth $1,620,109. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.