TransAlta (TSE:TA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Scotiabank

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on TA. Desjardins cut shares of TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 5th. TD Securities increased their price target 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. National Bankshares increased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$16.17.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TA opened at C$19.10 on Thursday. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$8.22 and a 12 month high of C$19.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of C$14.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$12.01. The stock has a market capitalization of C$5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.05, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In other news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.67, for a total transaction of C$795,150.00. Insiders have sold a total of 175,988 shares of company stock valued at $2,765,921 in the last ninety days. 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.