TransAlta (TSE:TA) Cut to “Hold” at Desjardins

Desjardins lowered shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) from a moderate buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. TD Securities lifted their price target on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. CIBC cut their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.50 to C$15.50 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. National Bankshares raised their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$16.17.

TransAlta Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of TSE:TA opened at C$14.62 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of C$4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.69, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 1-year low of C$8.22 and a 1-year high of C$15.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of C$13.50 and a 200 day moving average price of C$11.18.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

Insider Activity

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$11.45, for a total value of C$114,500.00. Insiders have sold 30,006 shares of company stock worth $392,973 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.