TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Upgraded to Outperform at National Bank Financial

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was upgraded by equities researchers at National Bank Financial from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Finviz reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $20.00.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TAC stock opened at $12.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.57 billion, a P/E ratio of -25.58 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta has a 1 year low of $7.82 and a 1 year high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $12.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.85.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $436.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TAC. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at $50,000. Warren Street Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth $129,000. Finally, Ritter Alpha LP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth $131,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.