TransAlta (TSE:TA) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as C$21.11 and last traded at C$21.07, with a volume of 147276 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$20.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Desjardins boosted their price target on TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. CIBC lowered TransAlta from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from C$17.00 to C$23.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$18.33.

TransAlta Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of C$6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$17.92 and its 200-day moving average price is C$14.13.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of TransAlta stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.11, for a total value of C$377,750.00. Also, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 35,179 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$20.73, for a total value of C$729,260.67. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 204,763 shares of company stock valued at $3,478,670. Corporate insiders own 0.21% 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.