TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Trading Down 14.5% – Time to Sell?

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) traded down 14.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $11.31 and last traded at $11.52. 679,407 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 1,741,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.47.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TAC. Scotiabank cut shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. CIBC cut shares of TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Cibc World Mkts cut TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Trading Down 19.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $13.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

TransAlta Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be issued a $0.0423 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.57%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.65%.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TAC. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 28,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $400,000 after buying an additional 10,211 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in TransAlta by 1,096.2% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 259,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,668,000 after acquiring an additional 237,584 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter worth about $145,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 4th quarter valued at about $7,139,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of TransAlta by 190.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 147,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,550,000 after purchasing an additional 96,856 shares during the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.