TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) Shares Up 3.7%

TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA)’s stock price rose 3.7% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $9.66 and last traded at $9.64. Approximately 127,990 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 736,271 shares. The stock had previously closed at $9.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered TransAlta from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday.

TransAlta Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.90 billion, a PE ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.43. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $8.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $7.31.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.05 by $0.08. TransAlta had a net margin of 18.41% and a return on equity of 47.71%. The firm had revenue of $425.37 million during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.17 EPS. Research analysts expect that TransAlta Co. will post 0.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.044 per share. This represents a $0.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is an increase from TransAlta’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.04. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On TransAlta

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth about $514,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in TransAlta by 25.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,498,451 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,242,000 after buying an additional 2,116,907 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in TransAlta by 93.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 1,525,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,688,000 after purchasing an additional 738,338 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 1st quarter worth $3,779,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of TransAlta by 71.9% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 643,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,131,000 after buying an additional 269,444 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 59.00% of the company’s stock.

TransAlta Company Profile

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.