TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price Up 3.4%

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) rose 3.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as C$13.10 and last traded at C$13.05. Approximately 46,945 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 975,482 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$12.62.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. National Bankshares lifted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of C$15.43.

TransAlta Trading Up 4.8 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company’s 50 day moving average price is C$11.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$9.99. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.90.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$0.07 by C$0.11. The firm had revenue of C$582.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 32.01%. As a group, analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.4504537 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred 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 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.45, for a total value of C$114,500.00. Insiders have sold 100,217 shares of company stock worth $1,118,820 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.