TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $22.25.

Several research analysts have commented on TAC shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. National Bank Financial upgraded TransAlta from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 17,781,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $224,756,000 after purchasing an additional 1,832,874 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in TransAlta by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,295,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $168,163,000 after buying an additional 2,870,026 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in TransAlta by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,123,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $140,694,000 after buying an additional 174,449 shares during the period. Oaktree Capital Management LP grew its position in TransAlta by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,648,000 after buying an additional 330,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $45,298,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $14.22. 1,148,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,541,812. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a PE ratio of -26.34 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $13.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $13.09. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $11.05 and a 52 week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.76.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.22 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.