TransAlta Corporation $TAC Shares Sold by Clayton Partners LLC

Clayton Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 629,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 64,013 shares during the quarter. TransAlta accounts for about 5.6% of Clayton Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Clayton Partners LLC owned 0.21% of TransAlta worth $7,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of TAC. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 5,214 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in TransAlta by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,075,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,601,000 after buying an additional 170,829 shares during the period. Westerly Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in TransAlta during the 2nd quarter worth about $8,281,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in TransAlta by 418.8% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 295,347 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,186,000 after buying an additional 238,422 shares during the period. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on TAC. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $24.00 price objective on shares of TransAlta in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.25.

TransAlta Price Performance

Shares of TAC opened at $13.58 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -25.14 and a beta of 0.69. TransAlta Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $10.28 and a fifty-two week high of $17.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business’s 50-day moving average is $13.14 and its 200-day moving average is $13.09.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a positive return on equity of 9.52% and a negative net margin of 9.46%. Equities research analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.