Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $1.55 Million Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its position in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 45.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 113,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 94,000 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in TransAlta were worth $1,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Savant Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at $140,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new position in TransAlta in the second quarter worth $159,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter worth $173,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 41.8% during the second quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 18,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $195,000 after purchasing an additional 5,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of NYSE TAC opened at $12.79 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of -26.63 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $13.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.63. TransAlta Corporation has a 1-year low of $7.82 and a 1-year high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.22.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.07). TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 3.00% and a negative net margin of 7.39%.The business had revenue of $441.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $558.84 million. Research analysts predict that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 1st will be issued a $0.065 dividend. This represents a $0.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 27th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is presently -39.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

TAC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Natl Bk Canada downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. CIBC reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, October 20th. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $19.88.

TransAlta Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.