TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy”

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $10.23 on Wednesday. TransAlta has a twelve month low of $5.94 and a twelve month high of $10.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $8.44 and its 200-day moving average is $7.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 0.91.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TAC. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in TransAlta by 147.2% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $535,000 after buying an additional 38,365 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,902,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,615,000 after purchasing an additional 98,334 shares in the last quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp boosted its holdings in TransAlta by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Claret Asset Management Corp now owns 47,677 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $397,000 after purchasing an additional 5,230 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. grew its position in TransAlta by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 1,882,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,525,000 after purchasing an additional 101,707 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in TransAlta by 93.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,525,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,688,000 after buying an additional 738,338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.