Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp Takes Position in TransAlta Corporation $TAC

Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 171,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,336,000. Lombard Odier Asset Management USA Corp owned approximately 0.06% of TransAlta as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rubric Capital Management LP raised its holdings in TransAlta by 32.9% during the second quarter. Rubric Capital Management LP now owns 15,948,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,084,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948,451 shares during the period. Aventail Capital Group LP bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $38,633,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of TransAlta in the third quarter worth about $36,395,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter worth about $20,533,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 15.1% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,425,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369,830 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TAC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised TransAlta from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. National Bank Financial downgraded shares of TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, TransAlta presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.00.

TransAlta Price Performance

NYSE:TAC opened at $12.48 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of -26.54 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $12.95 and its 200 day moving average is $13.84.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.09). TransAlta had a negative net margin of 7.51% and a positive return on equity of 10.00%. The firm had revenue of $436.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $493.39 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.07 dividend. This represents a $0.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. This is a boost from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.07. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. TransAlta’s payout ratio is -42.55%.

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.