TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Cut to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on TAC. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective (up previously from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. National Bankshares restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.88.

TransAlta Stock Up 3.9%

TAC stock opened at $15.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $14.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.19. TransAlta has a 52-week low of $7.82 and a 52-week high of $17.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.07). TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 2.06% and a negative net margin of 6.79%.The business had revenue of $441.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.84 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in TransAlta by 48,666.7% in the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 4,380 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $127,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $134,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at approximately $139,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by 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.