TransAlta (TSE:TA) Sets New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC's share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$14.79 and last traded at C$14.74, with a volume of 265127 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at C$14.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on TA. National Bankshares boosted their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. CIBC lowered their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Desjardins set a C$15.50 price objective on TransAlta and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Securities upped their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of C$15.50.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of C$4.56 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. The business's 50 day simple moving average is C$13.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$11.09.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.57%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.63%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O'reilly sold 48,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 41,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$11.30, for a total value of C$467,571.40. Also, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O'reilly sold 48,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. Insiders sold 120,217 shares of company stock worth $1,397,220 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

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.