TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $10.78 and last traded at $10.67, with a volume of 462699 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $10.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Desjardins assumed coverage on TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th.

TransAlta Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.81 and a beta of 0.92. The business’s 50-day moving average is $9.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $8.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning boosted its stake in TransAlta by 6.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in TransAlta during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 23.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after buying an additional 5,008 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% 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.