TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday.

TransAlta Price Performance

NYSE TAC opened at $10.49 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $3.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $8.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.43. TransAlta has a 1 year low of $5.94 and a 1 year high of $10.51.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $425.37 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a return on equity of 47.71% and a net margin of 18.41%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that TransAlta will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. NBC Securities Inc. raised its position in TransAlta by 156.3% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 4,100 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 2,500 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 3,951 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $72,000. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.