Vanguard Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,949,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 248,027 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 3.69% of TransAlta worth $149,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter worth about $139,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth $140,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth $159,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the second quarter worth approximately $173,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. National Bank Financial lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Monday, November 10th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, TransAlta currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

TransAlta Stock Down 3.7%

TAC stock opened at $13.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $12.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $13.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -28.30 and a beta of 0.77. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $7.82 and a 12 month 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $493.39 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.07 per share. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is -40.43%.

TransAlta Company 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.