TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is C$18.36.

TA has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded TransAlta from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Scotiabank cut TransAlta from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from C$19.00 to C$21.00 in a report on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC upgraded TransAlta from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from C$23.00 to C$19.50 in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on TransAlta from C$18.00 to C$19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In related news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total value of C$729,260.67. Also, Senior Officer Joel E. Hunter bought 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of C$14.99 per share, for a total transaction of C$674,752.50. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,786 shares of company stock valued at $991,293. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock traded down C$0.01 on Wednesday, hitting C$13.40. 2,381,316 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,314,950. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average price of C$17.02 and a 200 day moving average price of C$15.46. TransAlta has a 1-year low of C$8.22 and a 1-year high of C$21.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 229.66.

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.