TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

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

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 6th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $20.00 target price (up from $19.00) on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, National Bankshares reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.88.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock traded up $0.59 on Thursday, reaching $15.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,133,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,512. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $14.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.98, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 0.80. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $7.82 and a twelve month high of $17.88.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $441.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.84 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 6.79% and a negative return on equity of 2.06%. Equities analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of TAC. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 48,666.7% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 4,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 4,380 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 3rd quarter worth $139,000. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $127,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $134,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in TransAlta in the first quarter valued at about $119,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.