TransAlta (TSE:TA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$15.39 and last traded at C$15.24, with a volume of 49615 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$15.29.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. National Bankshares lifted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$15.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$17.00 in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Desjardins cut TransAlta from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. TD Securities boosted their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of C$16.17.

TransAlta Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of C$14.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of C$11.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87. The stock has a market capitalization of C$4.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.24, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be paid a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.53%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 69,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$15.15, for a total value of C$1,060,227.30. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$13.92, for a total value of C$278,400.00. Insiders have sold a total of 122,988 shares of company stock worth $1,840,371 in the last 90 days. Corporate 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.