TransAlta (TSE:TA) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after TD Securities raised their price target on the stock from C$14.00 to C$16.00. TD Securities currently has a buy rating on the stock. TransAlta traded as high as C$14.69 and last traded at C$14.65, with a volume of 945346 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$14.05.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. National Bankshares boosted their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, CIBC decreased their target price on TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$15.50.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total value of C$278,400.00. In related news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total transaction of C$278,400.00. Insiders sold 120,217 shares of company stock worth $1,397,220 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

TransAlta Stock Up 3.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is C$13.08 and its 200-day moving average is C$10.90.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.07 by C$0.11. TransAlta had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 32.01%. The firm had revenue of C$582.00 million during the quarter.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently 12.63%.

About TransAlta

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.