TransAlta (TSE:TA) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as C$15.39 and last traded at C$15.24, with a volume of 49615 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$15.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TA has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bankshares increased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Securities raised their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins cut TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$16.17.

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of C$4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$14.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$11.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 8,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.49, for a total value of C$123,920.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total value of C$1,060,227.30. Insiders sold a total of 122,988 shares of company stock valued at $1,840,371 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.