AltaGas (TSE:ALA) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

AltaGas Ltd. (TSE:ALA)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Scotiabank raised their price target on the stock from C$36.00 to C$38.00. Scotiabank currently has an outperform rating on the stock. AltaGas traded as high as C$33.94 and last traded at C$33.89, with a volume of 93225 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$33.73.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ALA. CIBC lifted their target price on AltaGas from C$38.00 to C$40.00 in a report on Monday, July 15th. Raymond James lifted their target price on AltaGas from C$35.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on AltaGas from C$36.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. National Bankshares lifted their target price on AltaGas from C$35.00 to C$36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on AltaGas from C$34.00 to C$37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$36.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at AltaGas

In other AltaGas news, Senior Officer Bertram Grant Bradley sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.61, for a total value of C$252,075.00. In other news, Senior Officer Bertram Grant Bradley sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$33.61, for a total value of C$252,075.00. Also, Senior Officer Vernon Dai-Chung Yu bought 16,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of C$30.71 per share, for a total transaction of C$506,715.00. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 20,500 shares of company stock valued at $627,795 and have sold 73,970 shares valued at $2,333,643. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AltaGas Trading Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 115.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of C$31.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of C$30.23. The firm has a market cap of C$10.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of -4.97 and a beta of 1.25.

AltaGas Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $0.298 dividend. This represents a $1.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. AltaGas’s payout ratio is 82.07%.

About AltaGas

AltaGas Ltd. operates as an energy infrastructure company in North America. The company operates through Utilities and Midstream segments. The Utilities segment owns and operates franchised, cost-of-service, rate-regulated natural gas distribution and storage utilities in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and the District of Columbia serving approximately 1.6 million customers.