TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC opened at $8.93 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $7.84 and its 200 day moving average is $7.16. 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 has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.76 and a beta of 0.91. TransAlta has a 12-month low of $5.94 and a 12-month high of $9.75.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $425.37 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that TransAlta will post 0.75 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning raised its stake in TransAlta by 161.9% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,103 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 22.3% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 929,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,582,000 after purchasing an additional 169,219 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at $252,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter valued at $72,000. Finally, Clayton Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2,293.5% during the 2nd quarter. Clayton Partners LLC now owns 458,155 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,244,000 after buying an additional 439,013 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.