TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight 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 updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is C$25.00.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on TA. Royal Bank Of Canada set a C$24.00 price target on shares of TransAlta and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$18.50 to C$19.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Scotia set a C$27.00 target price on shares of TransAlta and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. TD set a C$26.00 target price on shares of TransAlta and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, National Bank Financial boosted their price target on TransAlta from C$22.00 to C$24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 1st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other TransAlta news, insider Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.45, for a total transaction of C$174,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 74,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$1,307,109.70. The trade was a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Michael Politeski bought 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of C$19.58 per share, for a total transaction of C$195,800.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider directly owned 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately C$1,468,500. This represents a 15.38% increase in their position. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 30,450 shares of company stock valued at $557,548 and have sold 25,000 shares valued at $445,000. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at C$18.61 on Friday. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$15.62 and a 12 month high of C$25.03. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -24.81, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 317.20. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$18.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$18.15.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last released its 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%.

About TransAlta

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.