TransAlta (TSE:TA) Given a C$15.50 Price Target by Desjardins Analysts

Desjardins set a C$15.50 price target on TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) in a report issued on Wednesday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. National Bankshares lifted their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Securities increased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, CIBC cut their target price on 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of C$15.50.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TA opened at C$14.36 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$13.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$11.03. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of C$8.22 and a fifty-two week high of C$14.75. The stock has a market cap of C$4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported C$0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of C$0.07 by C$0.11. TransAlta had a return on equity of 32.01% and a net margin of 19.50%. The business had revenue of C$582.00 million during the quarter.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The business 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 of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.63%.

Insider Transactions at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total transaction of C$278,400.00. In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total transaction of C$278,400.00. Also, Senior Officer Kerry Lynn O’reilly sold 48,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$10.99, for a total value of C$536,674.67. Insiders have sold a total of 120,217 shares of company stock worth $1,397,220 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.