TransAlta (TSE:TA) Rating Increased to Moderate Buy at Desjardins

Desjardins upgraded shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) to a moderate buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

TA has been the subject of several other research reports. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. National Bankshares raised their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price target on TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$15.50.

TransAlta Trading Up 3.9 %

TA opened at C$14.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. The firm has a market cap of C$4.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.68, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$8.22 and a 12 month high of C$14.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$13.14 and a 200-day moving average price of C$10.93.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of C$582.00 million during the quarter.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 41,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.30, for a total transaction of C$467,571.40. In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 41,378 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.30, for a total value of C$467,571.40. Also, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total transaction of C$536,674.67. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 120,217 shares of company stock worth $1,397,220. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.