TransAlta (TSE:TA) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Desjardins upgraded the stock to a moderate buy rating. The stock traded as high as C$14.69 and last traded at C$14.65, with a volume of 945346 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$14.05.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. National Bankshares raised their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$15.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total value of C$278,400.00. In related news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total value of C$278,400.00. Insiders sold 120,217 shares of company stock worth $1,397,220 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$13.21 and a 200 day moving average price of C$10.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. The firm has a market cap of C$4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.07 by C$0.11. The company had revenue of C$582.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 19.50%.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.