TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

by · The Markets Daily

StockNews.com lowered shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC – Free Report) (TSE:TA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock opened at $9.30 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $8.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.30. TransAlta has a 1 year low of $5.94 and a 1 year high of $9.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.00 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.84.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC – Get Free Report) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, September 1st will be paid a $0.044 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in TransAlta by 147.2% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 64,434 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $535,000 after purchasing an additional 38,365 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $1,835,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $1,165,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 4th quarter worth $256,000. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in TransAlta by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,902,599 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,615,000 after purchasing an additional 98,334 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

About TransAlta

(Get Free Report)

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.

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