TransAlta (TSE:TA) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock from C$17.00 to C$22.00. The stock traded as high as C$19.77 and last traded at C$19.76, with a volume of 642251 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$19.09.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on TA. National Bankshares raised their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Desjardins lowered shares of TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Securities upped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of C$17.00.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total transaction of C$1,060,227.30. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 3,602 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$18.84, for a total value of C$67,861.68. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 179,584 shares of company stock worth $2,833,709. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

TransAlta Stock Up 4.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of C$15.12 and a 200-day moving average price of C$12.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.92 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.63%.

TransAlta Company Profile

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.