StockNews.com Upgrades TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) to “Buy”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning.

TAC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. CIBC lowered TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Desjardins reissued a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Scotiabank downgraded TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:TAC opened at $10.57 on Tuesday. TransAlta has a 1-year low of $5.94 and a 1-year high of $14.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $13.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.82.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a $0.0423 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 27,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Tobam purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. Creative Planning grew its position in TransAlta by 6.9% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $557,000 after buying an additional 3,492 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in TransAlta in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% 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.