TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Upgraded at CIBC

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was upgraded by research analysts at CIBC from a “neutral” rating to an “outperformer” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $19.50 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, down from their previous target price of $23.00. CIBC’s price objective points to a potential upside of 85.80% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on TAC. Scotiabank cut TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.50.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.7 %

TAC stock opened at $10.50 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.12 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $12.84 and a 200-day moving average of $10.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.74. TransAlta has a one year low of $5.94 and a one year high of $14.64.

Institutional Trading of TransAlta

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,229,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $144,680,000 after buying an additional 150,554 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in TransAlta by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 9,290,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $131,222,000 after acquiring an additional 716,139 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in TransAlta by 79.7% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,255,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $116,764,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,900 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in TransAlta by 638.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 7,995,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,936,000 after acquiring an additional 6,913,431 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 20.0% in the third quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 5,622,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,254,000 after purchasing an additional 935,803 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.