TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) have been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$16.17.

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday. National Bankshares lifted their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Desjardins set a C$15.50 price target on shares of TransAlta and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, CIBC cut their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TA opened at C$14.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$13.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$11.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. TransAlta has a twelve month low of C$8.22 and a twelve month high of C$15.37. The company has a market cap of C$4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. 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 1.65%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. In related news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,839 shares of company stock valued at $929,648. 0.21% of the stock is currently 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.