TransAlta (TSE:TA) Hits New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) shares hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as C$16.39 and last traded at C$16.38, with a volume of 213033 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at C$16.29.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Desjardins lowered TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Securities raised their target price 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, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, National Bankshares raised their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$16.17.

TransAlta Price Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is C$14.40 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$11.88. 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$4.89 billion, a PE ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total transaction of C$278,400.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total transaction of C$1,060,227.30. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 130,988 shares of company stock valued at $1,970,771. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by 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.