National Bank Financial Weighs in on TransAlta Q4 Earnings

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA - Analysts at National Bank Financial issued their Q4 2024 earnings estimates for TransAlta in a report released on Tuesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings of $0.05 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for TransAlta's current full-year earnings is $0.54 per share.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Desjardins reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank cut TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Cibc World Mkts cut TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC lowered TransAlta from a "sector outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold".

TransAlta Stock Up 0.1 %

TAC traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, reaching $11.10. The stock had a trading volume of 816,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,925,025. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94. The company has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93 and a beta of 0.83. The stock's 50 day moving average is $13.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $10.66. TransAlta has a one year low of $5.94 and a one year high of $14.64.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be paid a $0.0423 dividend. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the second quarter worth approximately $252,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 22.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 929,631 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,582,000 after buying an additional 169,219 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 161.9% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $356,000 after acquiring an additional 31,103 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in TransAlta by 326.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 13,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 23.6% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 5,008 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.