TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Downgraded by Cibc World Mkts to “Hold”

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) was downgraded by equities researchers at Cibc World Mkts from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

TAC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. StockNews.com cut TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 4th. Finally, CIBC lowered TransAlta from a “sector outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold”.

TransAlta Stock Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $13.25 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $3.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.81 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $12.35 and its 200-day moving average is $10.01. TransAlta has a one year low of $5.94 and a one year high of $14.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in TransAlta by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 122,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,277,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of TransAlta by 6.9% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 53,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,492 shares during the period. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in TransAlta by 23.6% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 26,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 5,008 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in TransAlta during the third quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

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.