TransAlta (TSE:TA) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as C$16.39 and last traded at C$16.38, with a volume of 213033 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$16.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bankshares raised their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Desjardins downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$16.17.

TransAlta Stock Up 1.3 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of C$14.54 and a 200 day moving average price of C$11.94. The company has a market capitalization of C$4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.64, a PEG 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.63%.

Insider Activity at TransAlta

In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the company’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 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$15.49, for a total value of C$123,920.00. In the last three months, insiders have sold 130,988 shares of company stock worth $1,970,771. 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.