TransAlta (TSE:TA) Upgraded to Moderate Buy at Desjardins

Desjardins upgraded shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA - Free Report) NYSE: TAC to a moderate buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on TA. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. National Bankshares upped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, TD Securities upped their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of C$15.50.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.3 %

TSE:TA traded down C$0.04 on Tuesday, hitting C$14.56. 799,394 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,029,278. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of C$13.21 and a 200-day moving average price of C$10.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.62. TransAlta has a 52 week low of C$8.22 and a 52 week high of C$14.75. The company has a market cap of C$4.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

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

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.63%.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In related news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O'reilly sold 48,833 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O'reilly sold 48,833 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total transaction of C$278,400.00. Insiders have sold 120,217 shares of company stock valued at $1,397,220 over the last three months. 0.21% of the stock is owned by 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.