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

Shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $19.8750.

TAC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th. CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of TAC traded up $0.18 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $12.53. 2,614,056 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,987. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.71. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $7.82 and a 52 week high of $17.88. The company has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a PE ratio of -26.10 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.50.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its 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 positive return on equity of 3.00% and a negative net margin of 7.39%.The business had revenue of $441.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $558.84 million. On average, research analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.065 per share. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -39.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Sage Rhino Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter valued at about $139,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $127,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $134,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at about $176,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About TransAlta

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.