TransAlta (TSE:TA) Cut to "Sector Perform" at Scotiabank

TransAlta (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC was downgraded by stock analysts at Scotiabank from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a C$21.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of C$19.00. Scotiabank's price target indicates a potential upside of 29.87% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. CIBC downgraded shares of TransAlta from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from C$17.00 to C$23.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Securities boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of C$18.71.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TSE:TA traded down C$0.54 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting C$16.17. The stock had a trading volume of 1,278,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,390,880. TransAlta has a 1 year low of C$8.22 and a 1 year high of C$21.22. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$18.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of C$14.73. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.82 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The company reported C($0.12) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of C$0.18 by C($0.30). TransAlta had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 32.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 45,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$17.67, for a total value of C$795,150.00. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.11, for a total value of C$377,750.00. In the last three months, insiders sold 204,763 shares of company stock worth $3,478,670. 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.