Insider Selling: TransAlta (TSE:TA) Insider Sells C$652,508.70 in Stock

TransAlta Co. (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) insider Christopher Douglas Fralick sold 36,453 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of C$17.90, for a total transaction of C$652,508.70. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 46,939 shares in the company, valued at C$840,208.10. The trade was a 43.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TSE:TA opened at C$17.98 on Monday. The company has a market cap of C$5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -28.09, a PEG ratio of -0.07 and a beta of 0.49. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of C$11.16 and a fifty-two week high of C$25.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is C$17.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$19.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 320.51.

TransAlta (TSE:TA) (NYSE:TAC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The company reported C($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$712.00 million for the quarter. TransAlta had a negative return on equity of 8.84% and a negative net margin of 5.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on TA. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on TransAlta from C$27.00 to C$22.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Desjardins cut their target price on shares of TransAlta from C$19.00 to C$18.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a C$22.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. TD Securities raised their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$26.00 to C$27.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce lifted their price target on shares of TransAlta from C$25.00 to C$26.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of C$24.25.

About TransAlta

TransAlta owns, operates and develops a diverse fleet of electrical power generation assets in Canada, the United States and Australia with a focus on long-term shareholder value. TransAlta provides municipalities, medium and large industries, businesses and utility customers with affordable, energy efficient and reliable power. Today, TransAlta is one of Canada’s largest producers of wind power and Alberta’s largest producer of thermal generation and hydro-electric power. For over 114 years, TransAlta has been a responsible operator and a proud member of the communities where we operate and where our employees work and live.