TransAlta (TA) to Release Earnings on Tuesday

TransAlta (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC will release its earnings data before the market opens on Tuesday, November 5th. Analysts expect TransAlta to post earnings of C$0.29 per share for the quarter.

TransAlta (TSE:TA - Get Free Report) NYSE: TAC last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of C$0.07 by C$0.11. TransAlta had a net margin of 19.50% and a return on equity of 32.01%. The firm had revenue of C$582.00 million during the quarter.

TransAlta Price Performance

TA stock traded down C$0.15 during trading on Tuesday, hitting C$14.05. 1,186,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,025,698. TransAlta has a one year low of C$8.22 and a one year high of C$14.65. The stock has a market cap of C$4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.39, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of C$13.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of C$10.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.