Desjardins Initiates Coverage on TransAlta (NYSE:TAC)

Desjardins began coverage on shares of TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) in a report issued on Wednesday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm issued a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TransAlta stock opened at $10.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.75. TransAlta has a 12 month low of $5.94 and a 12 month high of $10.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.09. The company has a market cap of $3.13 billion, a PE ratio of 6.95 and a beta of 0.92.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The business had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.17 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that TransAlta will post 0.69 earnings per share for the current year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.044 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.26%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of TAC. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in TransAlta by 1,381.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,951 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. bought a new position in TransAlta in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new stake in TransAlta during the 1st quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.