Desjardins Issues Positive Forecast for TransAlta (TSE:TA) Stock Price

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) had its target price boosted by Desjardins from C$15.50 to C$16.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a hold rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. TD Securities lifted their price target on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$17.08.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TA opened at C$19.89 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. The firm has a market cap of C$5.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$15.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$12.67. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of C$8.22 and a fifty-two week high of C$20.98.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently 12.63%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total value of C$278,400.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total value of C$729,260.67. Insiders sold 224,763 shares of company stock valued at $3,757,070 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.