TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

Several brokerages have recently commented on TAC. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of TransAlta from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Scotiabank raised TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in TransAlta by 34.2% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 1,818,379 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,999,000 after acquiring an additional 463,266 shares during the last quarter. Tacita Capital Inc bought a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,073,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in TransAlta by 6.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,629,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $21,343,000 after purchasing an additional 91,665 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the first quarter worth $5,448,000. Finally, Capital Innovations LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth $1,259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock opened at $12.22 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -67.89 and a beta of 0.70. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $11.38 and a 12-month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.02. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 8.85% and a negative net margin of 2.76%.The firm had revenue of $342.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $379.54 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently -111.11%.

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.