TransAlta (TSE:TA) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by CIBC

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) was downgraded by analysts at CIBC from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have a C$23.00 price objective on the stock, up from their previous price objective of C$17.00. CIBC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 20.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented 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. Desjardins increased their price objective on TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Securities boosted their target price on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Scotiabank raised shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of C$18.33.

TransAlta Stock Performance

TransAlta stock traded down C$0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting C$19.08. 1,397,311 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,353,949. TransAlta has a fifty-two week low of C$8.22 and a fifty-two week high of C$20.98. The firm has a market capitalization of C$5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 10.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of C$17.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of C$13.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director John Harry Kousinioris sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.67, for a total value of C$795,150.00. Also, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction of C$377,750.00. Insiders have sold a total of 204,763 shares of company stock worth $3,478,670 in the last quarter. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.