TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price Down 9% – Here’s Why

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s stock price fell 9% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as C$18.15 and last traded at C$18.28. 907,293 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 31% from the average session volume of 1,323,862 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$20.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on TA. National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. ATB Cormark Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$28.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Desjardins decreased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, TD decreased their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$26.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$24.67.

TransAlta Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of C$5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -23.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$18.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$18.14.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported C$0.06 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$560.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.73% and a negative return on equity of 11.56%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of C$18.25, for a total value of C$182,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 49,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$910,784.50. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their position. Also, insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total transaction of C$652,508.70. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at C$840,208.10. This trade represents a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. In the last three months, insiders have sold 95,953 shares of company stock valued at $1,707,409. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.