StockNews.com Downgrades TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) to Buy

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TAC stock opened at $8.87 on Wednesday. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $9.95. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a PE ratio of 5.72 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $7.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $7.09.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,498,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,242,000 after buying an additional 2,116,907 shares in the last quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its position in TransAlta by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,145,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,760,000 after acquiring an additional 740,786 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of TransAlta by 76.4% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,387,290 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,458,000 after buying an additional 1,899,671 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 4,199,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,612,000 after purchasing an additional 796,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,902,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,615,000 after acquiring an additional 98,334 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.