Oaktree Capital Management LP Buys 330,000 Shares of TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Oaktree Capital Management LP raised its stake in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,415,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 330,000 shares during the quarter. TransAlta accounts for about 0.7% of Oaktree Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Oaktree Capital Management LP owned approximately 2.16% of TransAlta worth $87,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of TransAlta by 27.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 208,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after acquiring an additional 45,478 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $140,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in TransAlta by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 5,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning grew its holdings in TransAlta by 6.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 51,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,322 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on TAC shares. National Bank Financial lowered shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Zacks Research raised TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

TransAlta Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of TAC stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $12.84. 48,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,554,208. TransAlta Corporation has a 52 week low of $7.82 and a 52 week high of $17.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $12.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $13.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a PE ratio of -27.34 and a beta of 0.77.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $436.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $493.39 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. Analysts anticipate that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be given 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is currently -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.