TransAlta (TSE:TA) Lowered to Hold Rating by Cibc World Mkts

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) was downgraded by Cibc World Mkts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. CIBC downgraded TransAlta from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from C$17.00 to C$23.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Desjardins increased their price objective on shares of TransAlta from C$15.50 to C$16.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$14.00 to C$16.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$17.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price objective on TransAlta from C$16.00 to C$18.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Three 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of C$18.33.

TransAlta Price Performance

TSE:TA opened at C$19.12 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is C$17.45 and its 200 day moving average is C$13.74. TransAlta has a 12 month low of C$8.22 and a 12 month high of C$20.98. The company has a market capitalization of C$5.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 219.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Jane Nyla Fedoretz sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 value of C$377,750.00. Also, 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 204,763 shares of company stock valued at $3,478,670. 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.