TransAlta (TSE:TA) Cut to Neutral at CIBC

CIBC lowered shares of TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. CIBC currently has C$23.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of C$17.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on TA. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Desjardins raised their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Securities raised their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$18.33.

TransAlta Price Performance

TA stock opened at C$19.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$8.22 and a 12 month high of C$20.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of C$17.27 and a 200-day moving average of C$13.63. 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently 12.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at TransAlta

In other TransAlta news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 the firm’s stock in a transaction 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 204,763 shares of company stock valued at $3,478,670. 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.