TransAlta (TAC) Competitors

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) and Talen Energy (NASDAQ:TLN) are both utilities companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, community ranking, institutional ownership, risk, profitability, media sentiment, valuation, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Does the media prefer TAC or TLN?

In the previous week, TransAlta had 8 more articles in the media than Talen Energy. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for TransAlta and 8 mentions for Talen Energy. Talen Energy's average media sentiment score of 1.28 beat TransAlta's score of 0.55 indicating that Talen Energy is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
TransAlta	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Talen Energy	7 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, TAC or TLN?

Talen Energy has lower revenue, but higher earnings than TransAlta. Talen Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than TransAlta, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
TransAlta	$2.49B	1.30	$514.86M	$0.37	29.39
Talen Energy	$2.41B	4.61	$613M	$18.68	11.71

Is TAC or TLN more profitable?

Talen Energy has a net margin of 50.48% compared to TransAlta's net margin of 5.72%. TransAlta's return on equity of 17.46% beat Talen Energy's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
TransAlta	5.72%	17.46%	1.84%
Talen Energy	50.48%	8.59%	3.13%

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in TAC or TLN?

59.0% of TransAlta shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.4% of Talen Energy shares are owned by institutional investors. 13.1% of TransAlta shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Talen Energy shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility and risk, TAC or TLN?

TransAlta has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Talen Energy has a beta of 1.7, indicating that its share price is 70% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor TAC or TLN?

TransAlta received 77 more outperform votes than Talen Energy when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 63.16% of users gave Talen Energy an outperform vote while only 55.18% of users gave TransAlta an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
TransAlta	Outperform Votes 293 55.18%	Underperform Votes 238 44.82%
Talen Energy	Outperform Votes 216 63.16%	Underperform Votes 126 36.84%

Do analysts recommend TAC or TLN?

TransAlta currently has a consensus price target of $19.50, indicating a potential upside of 79.31%. Talen Energy has a consensus price target of $247.10, indicating a potential upside of 12.93%. Given TransAlta's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe TransAlta is more favorable than Talen Energy.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
TransAlta	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Talen Energy	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Talen Energy beats TransAlta on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.