Brokers Set Expectations for TransAlta Q4 Earnings

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) – Equities researchers at National Bank Financial issued their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of TransAlta in a report released on Tuesday, January 28th. National Bank Financial analyst P. Kenny expects that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.05 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for TransAlta’s current full-year earnings is $0.54 per share.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on TAC. StockNews.com upgraded TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. CIBC downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Scotiabank downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Desjardins reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.3 %

TransAlta stock opened at $11.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 31.10 and a beta of 0.84. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.0423 per share. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $252,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in TransAlta by 22.3% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 929,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,582,000 after acquiring an additional 169,219 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 161.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 50,311 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $356,000 after purchasing an additional 31,103 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 326.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 18,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $187,000 after purchasing an additional 13,827 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 23.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 5,008 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% 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.