Brokers Issue Forecasts for TransAlta Co.’s Q3 2024 Earnings (NYSE:TAC)

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) – Equities researchers at Atb Cap Markets lowered their Q3 2024 earnings estimates for TransAlta in a report issued on Sunday, May 5th. Atb Cap Markets analyst N. Heywood now forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $0.18 for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $0.26. The consensus estimate for TransAlta’s current full-year earnings is $0.51 per share. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for TransAlta’s FY2024 earnings at $0.80 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $0.59 EPS.

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TransAlta stock opened at $7.32 on Wednesday. TransAlta has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $10.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.06. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a PE ratio of 4.72 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $6.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $7.31.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported ($0.20) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by ($0.30). TransAlta had a return on equity of 43.02% and a net margin of 18.70%. The firm had revenue of $624.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $305.79 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.45) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 26.9% on a year-over-year basis.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, June 1st will be issued a $0.0438 dividend. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is presently 10.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in TransAlta by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,370,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,007,000 after buying an additional 149,378 shares during the period. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $773,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its stake in TransAlta by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 39,322,839 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,110,000 after purchasing an additional 581,454 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP grew its position in TransAlta by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 4,404,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,322,000 after purchasing an additional 978,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in TransAlta by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,381,544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,919,000 after purchasing an additional 82,419 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is 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.