Cibc World Mkts Upgrades TransAlta (TSE:TA) to Strong-Buy

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) was upgraded by analysts at Cibc World Mkts from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Desjardins increased their target price on TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank lowered TransAlta from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from C$19.00 to C$21.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, TD Securities increased their target price on TransAlta from C$18.00 to C$19.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$18.36.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TA opened at C$15.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of C$4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 52-week low of C$8.22 and a 52-week high of C$21.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 229.66, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business’s fifty day moving average is C$18.44 and its 200-day moving average is C$15.15.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total transaction of C$1,060,227.30. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 8,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.49, for a total value of C$123,920.00. Insiders have sold 204,763 shares of company stock valued at $3,478,670 over the last ninety days. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.