TransAlta (TSE:TA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

TA has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Securities lifted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Desjardins downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$16.17.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TA opened at C$19.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a one year low of C$8.22 and a one year high of C$19.16. 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 fifty day moving average price is C$14.65 and its 200 day moving average price is C$12.02.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently 12.63%.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.11, for a total value of C$377,750.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.67, for a total transaction of C$795,150.00. Insiders have sold a total of 175,988 shares of company stock valued at $2,765,921 over the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company 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.