Insider Selling: TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Director Sells 35,179 Shares of Stock

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total transaction of C$729,260.67.

John Harry Kousinioris also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, December 5th, John Harry Kousinioris sold 45,000 shares of TransAlta stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.67, for a total transaction of C$795,150.00.
• On Friday, November 22nd, John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of TransAlta stock. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total value of C$1,060,227.30.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of TSE:TA opened at C$20.02 on Friday. TransAlta Co. has a 12-month low of C$8.22 and a 12-month high of C$20.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is C$15.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$12.60. 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$5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.63%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Securities upped their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday. Desjardins raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, National Bankshares upped their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$17.08.

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.