TransAlta (TSE:TA) Cut to Hold at Cibc World Mkts

Cibc World Mkts lowered shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on TA. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. CIBC lowered TransAlta from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from C$17.00 to C$23.00 in a research report on Wednesday. TD Securities boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$18.33.

TransAlta Price Performance

TransAlta stock opened at C$19.12 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 1 year low of C$8.22 and a 1 year high of C$20.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of C$17.45 and a 200-day moving average of C$13.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$19.41, for a total value of C$194,100.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total value of C$729,260.67. Insiders have sold a total of 204,763 shares of company stock worth $3,478,670 over the last 90 days. 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.