TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Trading 6.9% Higher – Here’s Why

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $11.20 and last traded at $11.29. 229,881 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,011,030 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.56.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TAC has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $23.00 to $19.50 in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank cut TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Desjardins restated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $19.50.

TransAlta Trading Down 3.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $10.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.12 by ($0.28). TransAlta had a net margin of 6.38% and a return on equity of 18.47%. The firm had revenue of $484.60 million for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that TransAlta Co. will post 0.41 EPS for the current year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.0458 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 30th. This is a positive change from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TAC. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 326.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,000 after acquiring an additional 13,827 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 5,008 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 192.5% during the 3rd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 34,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 22,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth $42,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.